Always Here For You
by HSMLUVER218
Summary: Gabriella Montez disappeared 5 years ago without a trace. Now what happens when Troy bumps into her again except she thinks her name is Marie Garcia. Then there's her fiance, Jeff who treats her like garbage. Troyella! Trailer up.
1. Trailer

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any of ****it's**** characters.**

**A/N: Ok so I have ****wanted**** to write this story FOREVER – well since I started Without ****You****, anyway I want to finish Find You There before I start another story. ****So…**** I'm just going to put the trailer up. Please keep in mind I have never done a trailer before so if ****it is**** awful I'm sorry. Enjoy…**

**Bold: Narrator**

Regular: Speaking

_Italics: Clips _

**5 years ago Gabriella Montez disappeared without a trace.**

"Troy, she's gone, I don't know where she is."

"What do you mean?"

"She never came home last night."

**Troy never gave up hope,**

"You can't give up!"

**E****ven when the police did,**

_Shows Troy yelling at the police_

"I'm sorry Troy, but you have to move on!"

"I can never move on!"

**Now, he is a teacher at East Elementary School**

_Shows Troy teaching a second grade class_

**But he still thinks of her every day.**

_Shows Troy looking at a picture of Gabriella while sitting at his desk_

** What happens when he sees her ****again?**

_Shows Troy looking up at the waitress before him,_

"Gabi?"

**And she doesn't have any idea what he's talking about,**

_Shows Marie looking confused,_

"No, I'm sorry, you're mistaken, I'm Marie"

**But ****Marie's life is far from perfect,**

_Shows Jeff yelling,_

"Marie get your ass down here and make me dinner!"

"This house is dirty! I want it clean when I get home!"

_Shows Marie cleaning_

**Her fiancé, Jeff never stops telling her she's useless,**

"You are so lucky I haven't ditched you yet, you ugly, useless woman."

**The sad thing is she believes**** him.**

"Me? The most hideous thing in the world"

**Troy is determined to convince her otherwise,**

"Yes you, and you are not hideous you're beautiful"

**But Jeff isn't going to give her up so easily,**

"You stay away from that Bolton, understood?"

**Can Troy save ****her**

_Shows Troy running down a street_

**A****nd help her remember her past**** before it's too late**

"Please tell me you remember."

**Or will he loose Gabriella forever,**

_Shows Gabriella with tears streaming down her face_

"Why are you doing this to me! Just stay away from me!"

**Starring,**

**Vanessa ****Hudgens**

_Shows Gabriella walking sitting in a café with Troy_

"Why do you care about me so much?"

**Zac****Efron**

_Shows Troy smiling,_

"Because you mean a lot to me."

**Corbin Bleu**

_Shows Chad giving Troy a pat on the back_

"Dude, you can't give up, this is Gabi we're talking about."

**Mo****nique Colman**

_Shows Taylor talking with Troy_

"She'll come around, just give her time"

** And Channing Tatum as Jeff Sander**

_Shows Jeff yelling at Marie_

"You're late! Where have you been?"

**In a story of everlasting love**

"I love you, I've never stopped and I never will!"

**And discovering the past.**

**Always Here ****For**** You**

Coming Soon to FanFiction

**A/N: ****Soo****… what did you think? Should I write it? ****Or not?**


	2. 5 Years Ago Today

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters.**

**A/N: Ok! Here is my new story! I am really excited to be writing it, so I hope you enjoy it. I'd like to give a big thank you to everyone who reviewed the trailer! Enjoy…**

**Always Here ****For**** You**

**Chapter One**

5 Years Ago Today

23 year old Troy Bolton sat at his desk. The school day had finished an hour ago and he hadn't moved from his position since. He couldn't. For the past hour he'd been staring at a photograph. His most prized photo.

She looked so beautiful in it, like she always did. It had been taken in the winter, so her cheeks were rosy as was her nose, a smile dancing across face. She was twirling in circles watching the snow that was beginning to fall. She was laughing and wasn't aware that the photo was being taken. Troy had caught it at the perfect moment. She was facing the camera, her arms spread out, looking up at the sky, beaming and radiant with joy.

He had gone over the photo over and over examining every inch of it, wishing she would come walking through the door with that same joyful look. He sighed knowing that wasn't going to happen, it had been 5 years since he had seen her face, 5 years ago today, was the day she disappeared without a trace.

_Flashback_

_"Hey" Gabriella greeted him warmly coming up to him at his locker after school._

_"Hey!" Troy replied kissing her softly. "How are you?"_

_"I'm great" She __grinned__ "You?"_

_"Hmmm, well I was good but then you came and…" Troy said as he watched her face fall "…now I'm great!" Gabriella let out a sigh of relief._

_"Good, I thought you were going to say that I had made your day worse."_

_"Gabi, you only ever make my day better." He assured her. Gabriella smiled. Troy wrapped his arm around her as they walked down the hall and out to begin the walk home. _

_"So, are you going to come over to my house today?" Troy asked, it was Wednesday; Gabriella always came over on Wednesday._

_"I can't." she answered. "I'm babysitting for friends who live upstate a little. I'm really sorry, I totally forgot, I know you probably hate me for not telling you, and I know these days Wednesdays are some of the few days you don't have practice, and I'm really __really__ sorry, but I promised a long time ago and-"_

_"Gabi, whoa chill, it's ok. I understand. How about on Friday after my game, we do something together?" Troy said._

_"I'd like that." She __smiled kissing him softly._

_"Looks like this is my stop, I've __gotta__ get going right away, they live half an hour away and I said I'd be there way 4." She said._

_"Ok, well I'll see you tomorrow then." Troy said._

_"Bye, I love you."_

_"I love you too, drive safe." He said before kissing her goodbye._

_End Flashback_

That was the last time he had told Gabriella he loved her. What he would give to tell her again, to hold her again, to kiss her again or just to catch a glimpse of her again.

_Flashback_

_The next day Troy walked into homeroom and immediately noticed Gabriella was not in her usual seat, in fact as he looked around the classroom he discovered she was not there at all. He walked up to Taylor and asked,_

_"Hey have you seen Gabi this morning?"_

_"No I haven't maybe she's running late this morning." Taylor said._

_"Gabi's never late." Troy said just before Ms. Darbus walked in and ordered the class to be silent._

_All through class he watched the door anxiously hoping that maybe he was wrong and there was one day when Gabriella was late, but of course, he was right, she never came._

_Then, his father came rushing into Ms. Darbus's room._

_"Coach Bolton, what are you doing here? I was just in the middle of explaining the importance of Shakespeare." She asked rather annoyed._

_"I need to see Troy, right now." He said. Troy looked over at him extremely confused, as he began to get up Ms. Darbus snapped,_

_"No one is leaving my class until they give me a valid reason, and that the Yankees won the Super Bowl or whatever is not a valid reason."_

_"No, it's not that."_

_"Then what is it!" Ms. Darbus demanded._

_"It's about Gabriella." Mr. Bolton said as he watched the color from Troy's face drain._

_"What's wrong?" was all he could manage._

_"Just come with me Troy." Troy got up and followed his father to the principal's office. Mr. Bolton opened the door and saw Mrs. Montez sitting there with a police officer and Mr. Matsui._

_"What's going on?" Troy asked nervously._

_"She's gone." Mrs. Montez said._

_"Excuse me?" Troy said._

_"Troy, she's gone, I don't know where she is." Mrs. Montez exclaimed._

_"What do you mean?"_

_"She never came home last night."_

_Troy couldn't handle this,_

_"No…no…she was at…the friend's house…babysitting…and she was going to come home…no she's not missing…no" Troy stuttered._

_"Troy, I called The Davison, they said she left their house." Mrs. Montez said. "She's missing"_

_End Flashback_

Troy had never been the same after she had disappeared. After months of searching and finding nothing the police gave up. Troy could never give up, he could never forget her, she was everything to him. Troy let another deep sigh and traced his finger over her figure, for the hundredth time.

Just then he heard a knock at the door. It made him jump and he put the picture back as he said,

"Come in."

"Hey, hey, hey!!!" Chad said as he entered the room, Troy relaxed slightly, because he thought it was his boss who was going to walk in.

"Oh Chad, do you always have to greet him like that." Taylor sighed as she too entered the class room.

"Yes and besides he likes it. Right Troy?"

"Yeah sure whatever." Troy mumbled.

"You were thinking about her weren't you?" Taylor said softly. Troy nodded.

"Troy, I miss her too, but you can't keep doing this. Maybe it's time to move on." She said softly.

"I can't, I can never move on." He said sternly. Taylor sighed.

"Hey I have an idea, why don't we go out for a late lunch, early dinner, I'm hungry." Chad suggested.

"Yeah and you can even choose the restaurant Troy." Taylor offered.

"I don't know guys, I'm not really hungry." Troy said unsurely.

"Please Troy." Taylor begged.

"Ok fine, let's go." Troy said giving in.

* * *

Marie was sitting in the bedroom of the bedroom of their new apartment unpacking boxes when Jeff, her fiancé yelled, 

"Marie!!! Get your pitiful ass out here!" she quickly scurried out into the living room where he was standing.

"Yes" she said timidly.

"I'm going out, when I get back I want all the boxes empty and out of my sight. Understood?"

"But, I have to go to work today." Marie said softly.

"DO IT BEFORE YOU GO TO WORK!!! God sometimes you are so stupid!!" He yelled grabbing her arms and shaking her violently. "I'll be back later" he dropped her and walking out, slamming the door.

Marie clutched her arms in pain, that was defiantly going to leave a bruise, but it's wasn't like she didn't have any already. Jeff had been physically abusing her since after she said yes to his proposal. Before that he had been verbally abusing her, since they had gotten together. It wasn't like he had been a jerk the entire time, he gradually worked it in. The problem now was that Marie believed every word he said to her. So she was convinced she was this, worthless, ugly, stupid slut.

She got started unpacking the boxes, most of which were Jeff's belongings. Marie had few belongings; a few clothes and one necklace. She wore the necklace every day. She never remembered getting it, but she was too afraid to ask Jeff who had given it to her.

After hours of unpacking she knew it was time for work, she still hadn't finished, but she would just have to take Jeff's punishment, if she didn't earn any money then he would get mad at her also. It was a lose, lose situation. She brushed her hair and then began to walk to the diner.

* * *

Troy, Taylor and Chad sat in a booth at The Red Oak Diner. Taylor and Chad knew full well why Troy had chosen this restaurant. In high school, the gang always used to come here. It was like their place. All the waiters knew them and what they wanted to eat. 

As Taylor and Chad tried to make conversation Troy stared blankly at the menu, at Gabriella's favorite dish; grilled chicken sandwich with a diet sprite.

Suddenly a woman with dark hair came walking up to their table. Troy looked up at her and froze; he was staring at the most beautiful pair of chocolate brown eyes.

"Gabi?" Troy managed to say, through his shock.

**A/N: ****Oooo**** how will she ****react,**** how will he react, how will Taylor and Chad react? Did you guys like it, was it a total disappointment? I really hope not. Please review!!!**


	3. The Necklace

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters.**

**A/N: So, I know I haven't updated in a while, but I've been really busy with school and such. So anyway here is the next chapter. I'm really glad everyone likes the story so far. Thank you so much for all the reviews! Oh before I forget I put a picture of the necklace Marie is wearing in my profile, check it out! Anyway enough babbling, enjoy…**

_Last Time…_

_Troy, Taylor and Chad sat in a booth at The Red Oak Diner. Taylor and Chad knew full well why Troy had chosen this restaurant. In high school, the gang always used to come here. It was like their place. All the waiters knew them and what they wanted to eat._

_As Taylor and Chad tried to make conversation Troy stared blankly at the menu, at Gabriella's favorite dish; grilled chicken sandwich with a diet sprite. _

_Suddenly a woman with dark hair came walking up to their table. Troy looked up at her and froze; he was staring at the most beautiful pair of chocolate brown eyes._

_"Gabi?"__ Troy managed to say, through his shock._

**Chapter Two**

The Necklace

The waitress looked confused and then said,

"No, I'm sorry, you're mistaken, I'm Marie." She said softly. Troy couldn't move, he was looking at Gabriella, he was sure of it. It had to be her.

"So, are you ready to order?" she asked the group. Although, the entire group was bewildered one of them spoke up.

"Yeah, I'll have a burger with fries and a coke please." Chad said.

"And I'll have a have a Caesar salad with water please." Taylor said. They all looked at Troy to speak, but he didn't say anything, he just stared blankly into space.

"Troy?" Taylor said trying to get him to snap back into reality.

"Huh? Oh right food, um I'll have a grilled chicken sandwich with a diet sprite, please."

"Ok, thank you. I'll be back with your drinks soon." Marie said shyly. Troy watched her as she walked away, analyzing every movement that she made, the way she walked, talked, moved, wrote and even nodded. As soon as she left Chad said,

"You don't think her name is really Marie do you?"

"It's Gabriella." Troy said simply

"Troy, are you sure? Yeah I know she looks like Gabi, but how do you know for sure? Why don't you take a closer look, when she comes back?" Taylor suggested.

"Ok fine, but I know it's her." Troy stated.

Just then Marie came back with the drinks, "Here you go" she said quietly placing them gently on the table.

"Thank you." Troy said, hoping she would look at him again. And sure enough she did, except she was in complete shock, it had been a long time since anyone had thanked her.

"You're welcome." She said slowly, before turning and walking away.

"See, did you see that? That small smile she gave." Troy asked looking at Taylor and Chad, who had completely blank faces. "Oh come on, how could you miss it, it had Gabriella written all over it. Fine watch the next time."

About 15 minutes later Marie returned with the food.

"There you go, enjoy." She said.

"Thanks." Troy, Chad and Taylor all said simultaneously. Marie smiled again and once again she replied softly,

"You're welcome." And then turned and walked away.

"Come on you had to have seen that." Troy exclaimed.

"Ok fine yes it did look like her smile, but Troy, why doesn't she know who we are then?" Taylor asked.

"I'm not sure." Troy said.

"Maybe she hates us and is just ignoring us." Chad reasoned.

"But what did we do? Why would she just ignore us like that?" Taylor argued.

"I don't know! I'm just trying to help!" Chad argued back.

"Guys, guys, it's not that, if she hated us and was ignoring us she wouldn't have smiled the way she did." Troy mediated.

"What do you mean smiled the way she did?" Taylor inquired.

"I mean, she gave us her grateful smile, not her I-hate-you-but-I-don't-want-to-show-it smile." Troy explained.

"You're weird Troy, you know her too well." Taylor said shaking her head.

"I'm not weird, I just love her, I bet she could do the same thing for me, we just need to figure out why, she doesn't know who we are and how she disappeared all those years ago."

"Why don't we just ask?" Chad pointed out dumbly.

"Oh yeah sure that will work, Hey Marie, how come you don't know who we are? Oh and we think your name is really Gabriella, because you went to high school with us and then just disappeared. Oh yeah Chad that will totally work." Taylor said sarcastically.

"We just have to watch her closely, but not look like stalkers." Troy said. "All we have to do is become friends with her again."

"Ok I think we can do that." Taylor said.

"I think we can too."

* * *

The three friends ate as slowly as possible, well mostly Troy. He wanted to spend as much time watching her, taking in every movement. They had been sitting there for almost 2 ½ hours now. Only just had they finished their meal and were ready for dessert. 

Marie came walking over to clear their plates away. As she did Troy noticed something he hadn't noticed before; something that broke his heart, a diamond ring on her left hand. Someone else had her heart and she had given hers to another. It was then Troy noticed something, he also hadn't before, _the_ necklace.

_Flashback_

_"Do I really have to go?" Troy moaned._

_"Yes Troy, __your__ Aunts and Uncles are looking forward to seeing __us" Mrs. Bolton explained._

_"But-" _

_"But nothing, it's only a month; you'll see your friends when you get back." Mr. Bolton said sternly. "Now you should go pack"_

_"Fine" Troy said giving up and walking up to his room. _

_It was actually going to be 4 weeks, 3 days, 5 hours and 46 minutes that he was going to be away. He was visiting his family in Maine, which happen to be in a different time zone to New Mexico. It's not that he did like his family, they were cool, __they__ weren't freaky and weird. He just didn't know if he could go that long without Gabriella. She meant everything to him. If she was sad, he was. If she was happy, then he was. If she was hurting, he was hurting too. When she was in his arms the world stopped and it was just them. He loved everything about her, her laugh, her smile, her voice, the way she moved, everything she did mesmerized him. How was he going to survive 4 weeks, 3 days, 5 hours and 46 minutes without her?_

_After he finished packing, he only had __a few hours before he had to leave for the airport. Troy wanted to spend every last moment with her._

_He climbed up the tree in her backyard and onto her balcony. He peered in through her French door as saw her sitting on her bed facing away from the doors, reading. __Troy couldn't help but laugh, so Gabi._

_Quietly he opened the doors and began creeping over toward her, Just as he was about to tickle her, Gabriella spoke,_

_"Don't even think about it Troy" _

_"How did you know I was here?" Troy asked bewildered as to how she knew._

_"I'm not deaf you know, I heard the door open." Gabriella laughed._

_"Then why didn't you say anything?" Troy questioned._

_"Because I wanted to see what you were going to do, and when you didn't say anything I knew__ you were going to scare me. Then I just waited until I could hear you breathing." Gabriella smirked._

_"You really are something." Troy said kissing her softly. Gabriella smiled._

_"So, how are you?" she asked._

_Troy sighed, "I'm ok. __You?"_

_"I'm ok too." Gabriella said softly. They sat in silence for a few moments until Gabriella burst out,_

_"Oh Troy, I'm going to miss you so much! I don't think I can go 4 weeks 3 days 5 hours and-"_

_"46 minutes without you." Troy finished for her._

_"Yeah."__ Gabriella sighed trying to hide the sadness in her eyes._

_"Hey, listen, I know it's going to be hard, but I'll call you every day. I promise__."_

_"Promise?"_

_"Here's my promise" Troy said going behind her and lifting his arms up to put a necklace on her neck. Gabriella looked down at the necklace that was now around her, and gasped. It was so beautiful. It was a heart made of alternating rubies and diamonds. Tears filled her eyes._

_"Hey, what's wrong? If you don't like it I can take it back and you can pick out a new one." Troy said worried as to why she was crying._

_"No, no Troy, it's so beautiful, you shouldn't have."_

_"But I __wanted to, whenever you feel sad, or lonely, or afraid, now you know that I am always with you, no matter wh__ere it am." Troy said genuinely wiping the tears off of Gabriella's cheeks._

_"I love you Troy." She said softly._

_"I loved you too baby." Troy said kissing her._

_End Flashback_

And there she was wearing _the_ necklace. What did that mean? Did it mean she knew what it meant or who gave it to her? Or was she just wearing it because she thought it was pretty? Suddenly Taylor snapped Troy out of his thoughts,

"Troy!"

"Huh?" he said coming back from his thoughts.

"Dessert. What do you want for dessert?"

"Oh right, um I'll have chocolate ice cream please."

"Ok, I'll be back soon." Marie said gently as she left the table.

"Ok so where was your head? Mars?" Chad asked.

"No, I was just thinking." Troy replied.

"What about how to get her into bed with you" Chad teased.

"Chad!" Taylor exclaimed slapping him.

"That's never going to happen, did you see her left hand, it has a ring on it." Troy explained sadly.

"It does?" Taylor said.

"Yeah, but she's wearing the necklace I gave her the summer before senior year, you know when I was going away for a month."

"Yes I remember Troy, she wore that necklace every single day." Taylor said. Troy smiled.

"So are you ok with the fact that she's engaged?" Chad blurted out.

"Truthfully I am heartbroken, but if she's happy then I'm happy for her." Troy said.

"But Troy-" Taylor started to say.

"Taylor no, this is the only chance I have to be near Gabriella again, even if we can only be friends. I'd rather that, then not be near her." Troy said. Just as he finished Marie came over with the desserts.

Just as she placed Troy's down in front of him her phone began ringing loudly. Startled, she quickly pulled it out of her pocket.

"Hello" she said quietly.

"-"

"I know, but I had-" Marie tried to say.

"-"

"Ok, I know, ok I'll be there soon." She said giving up finished the conversation.

"I'm really terribly sorry, but I have to go. I'll the bill on the table and then just take it up to the register, when you're done. Again I'm really sorry, I'm leaving you like this." Marie babbled nervously.

"It's fine" Taylor nodded understandingly as Marie ran off in the other direction.

When Taylor looked back over at Troy, he was a worried written all over his face.

"Troy, are you ok?"

"Something has changed about her, did you notice her eyes, they were filled with fear." Troy explained.

"No I didn't notice that, but you're the one who could read her like a book." Taylor said.

"And she still babbled the way she used to." Chad pointed out.

Troy smiled weakly, Chad was right, she did babble just the way she used to, but Troy knew he was right also. Something was up, and it was up to him to figure it out.

**A/N:** **So many questions and so little answers. Why doesn't Marie know who Troy, Chad and Taylor are? Why did she run off? Who was ****calling? And most of all ****What**** happened 5 to Gabriella 5 years ago? And guesses? I hope you liked that chapter, I hope it made ****sense,**** if it didn't tell me and I'll try and clear things up. Marie's engagement ring is in my profile. Please Review!**


	4. 10 Questions

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters.**

**A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed. I am really glad everyone likes this story so far. Anyway enjoy…**

_Last Time…_

_"Something has changed about her, did you notice her eyes, __they__ were filled with fear." Troy explained._

_"No I didn't notice that, but you're the one who could read her like a book." Taylor said._

_"And she still babbled the way she used to." Chad pointed out._

_Troy smiled weakly, Chad was right, she did babble just the way she used to, but Troy knew he was right also. Something was up, and it was up to him to figure it out._

**Chapter Three**

10 Questions

Marie ran behind the counter and grabbed her bag before dashing out of the diner. She ran as fast as she could back home. Nervously she opened the door of their apartment and walked inside.

She saw Jeff lying on the couch, beer bottles surrounding him, watching TV. Marie attempted to creep past him, but that failed.

"Finally you're home" he said getting up. "But I thought I told you to finish unpacking the boxes before you left for work!"

"I'm sorry, I guess I didn't work fast enough" she replied timidly.

"You should be sorry alright! I had to find my own fucking bottle opener for god's sake!" Jeff yelled throwing a beer bottle at Marie, which hit her arm, cutting as it came in contact with her arm. She winced and grabbed her now bleeding arm.

"That's what you get for being a lazy bitch, now go make dinner! And it better be good!" he yelled. Marie scurried off into the kitchen. Once there she washed the wound and put a few band-aids on it. Marie let out a deep sigh and began preparing dinner.

An hour and 15 minutes later she pulled piping hot lasagna out of the oven. She put some of it on a plate and carried it out to Jeff. Jeff took one look at the food in front of him and his face turned red.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!!!! I WANTED STEAK! NOT FUCKING LASAGNA!!!!" he yelled.

"I…I…I'm sorry, I thought you liked lasagna" Marie stammered nervously.

"WELL YOU THOUGHT WRONG. YOU DUMBASS MORAN!!!" he yelled throwing the hot lasagna at Marie's stomach. She fell back as it knocked the wind out of her.

"Great now I have to go out to eat! I'll be back later" With that Jeff kicked Marie's arm and walked out slamming the door. Tears rolled down Marie's face, how could she have been so stupid. She should have known. Jeff was right she was dumbass. Subconsciously, she held the necklace that was around her neck. Slowly she got up and made her way to the shower. Showering helped, it eased the pain.

After her long hot shower, she went to work, unpacking all of the boxes.

Finally very late into the night she slipped into bed and fell asleep quickly after a long day.

* * *

Troy couldn't stop thinking about her. He went over every moment over and over in his head that night as he tried to fall asleep. He analyzed everything, trying to figure out if he had missed something – anything. It was a good thing tomorrow was Saturday because he wouldn't have been able to focus on his students. That also meant he didn't have to coach his team. Not only was Troy a second grade teacher but he also coached the basketball team at East High. 

Just before he fell asleep, Troy made a promise to himself; he would do whatever it took to get Gabriella to remember. First he just had to get to know her as Marie, and his first step was to go to the diner again tomorrow.

The next morning Troy woke up at rolled over to look at the clock – 10:45. Good he could go to the diner for an early lunch. He stretched out and then got out of his bed and made his way to the bathroom.

After a hot shower, Troy got dressed, grabbed his phone and walked outside to his car.

Finally Troy arrived at the diner. As he stepped out of his car, a horrible thought occurred to him, "_what she isn't working today?__ Oh great real smart Bolton. I am going to look like a dumbass if I walk in the there and sit there for like 5 hours waiting for her to show up. Oh well, I just better hope that she's working there right now" _

Praying that she would be in there he opened the door to the diner. He walked over to the sign that said: Please wait here to be seated and waited. A few moments later a man came up to him,

"Just one?" he asked.

"Yeah" Troy replied looking the man in the eye.

"Troy Bolton?" the man asked.

"Oh wow Joe! How are you? I haven't seen you in a long time." Troy said.

"I've been good, just managing this place, like old times. How have you been?" Joe asked.

"I've been fine. I teach at East Elementary School and coach the basketball team at East High." Troy explained.

"Really? I thought you would become a basketball player."

"Yeah, but after Gabriella disappeared, I didn't have the desire anymore." Troy said sadly.

"Did you ever find her?" Joe asked.

"Well sort of. Ok you have to promise not to think I am insane. So, yesterday I was here with Taylor and Chad and this waitress came to our table, and it was Gabi, but she said her name was Marie, but I am absolutely positive it is Gabriella." Troy explained.

"O..Ok" Joe said slowly.

"Wait do you know her, Marie?"

"Yeah she's the new waitress. She's finishing her shift in about 5 minutes then coming back at 4. God she works a lot" Joe said.

"Yes! Thank you. Can I have my table now?" Troy said.

"Yeah sure. Just Troy, don't do anything stupid. If you're sure she is Gabriella, then don't force her into remembering anything." Joe said wisely.

"I won't. Thanks" Troy said as he sat down in the booth. Troy took a deep breath as he tried to figure out how he was going to eat with him. He looked up and saw she was already beginning to leave the diner. Troy shot up and quickly walked over towards where she was.

**Marie's POV**

_"Great, it's raining outside, well more like absolutely pouring, but same thing, I am going to get soaked either way__." _I let out a deep and said,

"Here goes nothing" and reached for the doorknob. Then I felt a tap on my shoulder. I flinched and turned around and came face to face with the man, who had been in the diner yesterday with his friends.

"You're not actually going to go out there?"

"Yeah, I have to walk home somehow" I said.

"Are you serious?" he asked.

"Yeah" I replied.

"I know you've just met me, but I really think it is a bad idea if you go out there. Why don't you have some lunch with me and wait until the rain eases up a bit?" he suggested.

_"Did he just offer to have lunch with me? He did. I can't have lunch with him, I have to get home. Jeff will murder me, if I don't come home soon."_

"I don't know" I said unsurely.

"Please, I promise you won't regret it" he said rather convincingly.

_"I guess one lunch can't hurt, after all how long could it take?"_

"Ok" I said giving in. He grinned and led me over to his table.

**Regular POV**

Marie sat across from Troy at the booth.

"I've just asked you to eat with me and you don't even know my name. I'm Troy, Troy Bolton" Troy said. Marie smiled.

"And I'm Marie, Marie Garcia." She said just as the waiter came over.

"What would you two like to eat today?" he asked

"Um, I'll have a coffee and hamburger please" Troy said.

"And I would just like a water and salad please" Marie said shyly

"Sounds great, I'll bring it all soon" the waiter said as he walked away.

"Ok, so since I know absolutely nothing about you, except your name of course, why don't we play a game? I get to ask you 10 questions and you get to ask me 10 questions. But, you have to tell the truth, and nothing but the truth." Troy said.

"Ok, you go first" Marie said.

"How old are you?" Troy asked.

"I'm 23 years old. How old are you?" she asked.

"I'm 23 too. Ok how long have you lived in Albuquerque?"

"Um, 2 days."

"No way, so you just moved here. Where did you move from?" Troy asked.

"Connecticut." She stated simply.

"Why did you move here?"

"My fiancé wanted to" Marie said softly. "So, what do you do for a living?"

"I am a second grade teacher and I coach the high school basketball team."

"Why did you become a teacher?" Marie asked.

"Because, I realized I love kids and…the other reason is complicated." Troy explained.

"I thought you said we had to be truthful Troy, what do you mean by complicated?"

Troy sighed, "Well, in high school I knew someone, who wanted to be a teacher when they grew up, and then something happened to this person and I felt like if I became a teacher then I was that much closer to that person." Troy explained.

"Wow, I'm really sorry for whatever happened to that person" Marie said softly.

"It's ok, but thank you. So, did you grow up in Connecticut?" Troy asked.

"Yeah" Marie stated simply.

"So, does your family still live there?" Troy asked.

Marie stared blankly at Troy and then said very quietly,

"Actually, my mother and father are dead, I have no siblings and I've never known any of my other family."

"Oh I'm so sorry, but I don't have any siblings either." Troy said trying to lighten the subject.

"It's alright you didn't know."

"Alright, would you rather watch a sunset or a sunrise?"

"A sunset. What is your least favorite sport?"

"My _least _favorite sport, hmmm, football"

"Football?" Marie asked shocked at his response. "Why?"

"Well, I used to like it, but the football players at my high school were complete ass holes so, I stopped liking it." Troy said simply.

"Wait so just because you didn't like the people who played it you stopped liking the sport?"

"Yup, the guys who played at my high school tried to hurt the people I cared about. Now, what is you all time favorite song?"

"Your Guardian Angel, it's a beautiful song." Marie said. "What's your favorite song?"

"When You're Gone." Troy answered simply. "What are your favorite flowers?"

"Lilies. What are you afraid of?"

"I am afraid of losing the ones I love." Troy said seriously. "Ok the last question, why did you run off yesterday?" Marie mentally screamed of all question, he had to ask this one.

"My fiancé need me home."_ "It was true, just not the whole truth, but I can't tell him, not after what happened last time, someone almost found out, and that wasn't even my fault."_ Troy looked confused and Marie quickly asked her last question,

"Would you ever hit someone you loved?" She asked in all seriousness.

"No, not ever" Troy said in equal seriousness just as their food arrived. For the rest of the meal Troy and Marie ate together enjoying each other's company.

**A/N: Did you like it? Or was it awful? Please review and let me your thoughts, predictions or even suggestions, anything. Thanks again for reading!!!**


	5. The Danforths' House

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters.**

**A/N: Sorry!! I know it's been a while since I last updated, but I wanted to finish Find You There. So now I**** can concentrate on this story! D****id you guys see the video of ****Zanessa**** out to eat on ****Zac's**** birthday? ****Omg! ****Zac**** was like "You alright babe?" to V, it was so sweet. It's ****kinda**** hard to hear, but it's there. He is also being ****kinda**** protective over her because there are so many paparazzi, it is so sweet, check it out!**** Oh and my prayers go out to everyone who lives in southern California, I hope you and your loved ones are alight.****Anyway I'll just get on with it. Enjoy…**

_Last Time…_

_"I am afraid of losing the ones I love." Troy said seriously. "Ok the last question, why did you run off yesterday?" Marie mentally screamed of all question, he had to ask this one._

_"My fiancé needed me home." _"It was true, just not the whole truth, but I can't tell him, not after what happened last time, someone almost found out, and that wasn't even my fault."_ Troy looked confused and Marie quickly asked her last question,_

_"Would you ever hit someone you loved?" She asked in all seriousness._

_"No, not ever" Troy said in equal seriousness just as their food arrived. For the rest of the meal Troy and Marie ate together enjoying each other's company._

**Chapter Four**

The Danforths' House

Somehow Troy and Marie managed to spend the entire afternoon talking to each other. Then at five to four Marie suddenly exclaimed,

"Oh no, it's almost four!"

"Is that a bad thing?" Troy questioned.

"No, not at all had"she lied," Yes_ it's a terrible thing I'm dead when I get home. How could I have been so __stupid?__" _"It's just I've got to go work another shift."

"Oh" Troy said. Marie began digging in her pockets for money but soon realized she didn't have any.

"Oh god, I'm so stupid, I'm sorry, I don't have any money. I know you are probably really mad, but please I'm terribly sorry, I didn't know honestly." Marie babbled, nervous that Troy was going to hurt her. The moment Troy raised his hand up to protest Marie flinched in fear, however she was completely shocked when he said,

"It's fine; don't worry about it, my treat"

"Thank you so much, I'll try not to be such an idiot next time" she said.

"You're not an idiot, and it's nothing, please don't worry about it" Troy assured her.

"Thank you" Marie said softly as a silence fell over the pair.

"Ok, well I guess I'll see you soon?" Troy said trying to break the awkward silence.

"Yeah I guess. Bye" she said walking off.

"Bye" Troy said as he watched her walk towards the kitchen. Troy put the money on the table and walked out of the diner.

* * *

Taylor and Chad were in their kitchen making cupcakes with their 2 year old son Chris. They had gotten married two years into college and a year later little Chris was born. Chris was the spinning image of his father and loved to play basketball. However much to Taylor's pleasure he had her brain. Chris saw the world like no one else. He often surprised his parents with his ideas.

"Daddy! You have icing on your nose!" Chris laughed just as the doorbell rang,

DING DONG

"I'll get it" Chad said as he brought his hand up to his face to wipe the icing off his nose.

Chad walked to the front door and opened it to reveal Troy standing on the doorstep.

"Hey! Troy what are you doing here?" He greeted.

"Oh I just wanted to stop by. Is that ok?" Troy asked.

"Yeah sure. Come on in" Chad said moving aside to let Troy in.

"Thanks, and um by the way, why do you have blue icing all over your face?" Troy laughed.

"What?" I thought I got rid of it!" Chad exclaimed bringing his hand back up to his face and wiping it again.

"Dude! You have icing all over your hand! Didn't you ever think to wipe your hand before wiping your face?" Troy pointed out.

"Right"

"So why do you have icing on your hand in the first place?" Troy asked as they walked down the hall.

"We're making cupcakes" Chad explained while he wiped his hands on his shirt, just as they entered the kitchen.

"Uncle Troy!" Chris exclaimed, jumping off the counter and rushing into Troy's arms.

"Hey! How's my favorite boy!"

"He's good." Chris grinned mischievously.

"Chris? What did you do?" Troy asked suspiciously as Chris shook his head furiously.

"Oh so you don't want to tell me? Well then you're gonna have to tell the tickle monster!" Troy exclaimed as he began tickling Chris.

"Stop!" Chris laughed.

"Not until you told me what you did?"

"Alwite…alwite…I'll tell you" Chris in between laughs. Troy stopped.

"Ok, well I tolded daddy, he had, icing on his face, only he really didn't and den he used his hand with lots of icing on it to wipe his face. It was funny. Daddy's silly!" Chris giggled. Chad's jaw dropped as Taylor and Troy were laughing hysterically.

"Classic, you are a genius" Troy said giving Chris a high five.

"So, Uncle Troy whatcha doing here?" Chris asked.

"I just wanted to stop by, is that a crime?" Troy defended himself.

"No dat's ok. Do you wanna play basketball with me?" Chris asked enthusiastically.

"Sure."

"Ok let's go!" Chris said pulling Troy and Chad out outside.

"I take it you're staying for dinner" Taylor yelled.

"If that's ok" Troy yelled back.

* * *

3 hours later, after they had played basketball, eaten dinner, played countess rounds of hide and seek and Chris had gone to bed, the three adults were sitting in the living room talking.

"So Troy what's the real reason you stopped by? And don't say just because, I've known you way too long to get that response. I know just as well as anyone else that you don't go places without a reason." Chad stated as Taylor nodded in agreement. Troy sighed,

"Well, I knew I couldn't go home, I knew I couldn't go to my parents', so I came here" Troy answered.

"Why?" Taylor asked.

"Well, if I went to my parents' house they'd want to know why I'd come and then they'd bug me about my life. If I went to my house I'd just sit there and analyze, so I came here, because I knew you guys would keep me occupied." Troy explained.

"Analyze?" Chad asked.

"Thinking about thing and their meaning you idiot" Taylor said.

"I know what it means, I was just wondering what he was analyzing" Chad said looking over at Troy who was rubbing the back of his neck and looking down, a sure sign of nervousness.

"Troy…"

"Ok fine" Troy said giving in. "Well you know how on Friday when we were at the diner, Gabi was there?"

"Yeah"

"Well I couldn't stop thinking about it so today I went back and she was there again and well we had lunch together. In fact we ended up talking until 4 when she had to go back to work" Troy explained.

"Oh my gosh, what did she say, does she remember anything?" Taylor asked anxiously.

"No" Troy said sadly. "That's the thing though, it's her I know it is, but then she says things that Gabi wouldn't. There are so many things similar about her and Gabriella and then there are so many differences."

"Like what?"

"Like she still loves lilies and sunsets, but she thinks her mother is dead. Mrs. Montez is alive and well. She also thinks that she's never known any of her other family. Gabriella invited me to her family reunion once and she has a huge family and she's really close with all of them. She still babbles nervously, but there is something that is really bothering me and I can't figure it out" Troy explained.

"What is it?" Taylor asked softly.

"It's hard to explain, but it's like there is something missing. Marie seems quieter and more afraid of something, I can't figure out what though." Troy said sadly.

"I'm sure you'll figure it out Troy, you always do. Remember that day in high school when she came in and didn't say a word to any of us." Taylor said. Troy nodded.

"And the entire day you were worried about her. Then during free period you figured it out when you saw her staring at you and your father talking." Chad continued.

"Yeah, it was the day her father was killed by a drunk driver; she was like that every year." Troy said softly.

"See, no one else would have been able to that out" Taylor said.

"I guess you're right, it's just going to take time" Troy concluded.

"Aren't I always" Taylor said proudly.

"Yeah always modest" Chad muttered as Troy laughed.

"Excuse me?" Taylor demanded.

"Nothing" Chad said innocently.

* * *

At 10 o'clock Marie finished her shift at the diner and began her walk home.

She knew that Jeff wasn't going to be happy, but it was too late now. She was confused on what had happened. Why had Troy been so nice to her? Why hadn't he yelled at her when she had been so stupid? Why hadn't he hurt her? It was she deserved for being so dumb. Why had he even noticed her? Why her? These questions ran her mind over and over. She couldn't believe it.

Finally she reached her apartment and opened the door, only to have a lamp be thrown at her. She winced in pain as the lamp came in contact with her arm.

"WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN!" Jeff yelled.

"I…I was at work" Marie stuttered.

"I KNOW THAT YOU DUMBASS! DON'T BE A SMART ASS WITH ME! WHERE WERE YOU BETWEEN YOUR SHIFTS?" Jeff yelled grabbing her by the arms and squeezing them tightly

"I'm…sorry…I should have come home." She said softly.

"DAMN RIGHT YOU SHOULD HAVE YOU WORTHLESS PIECE OF SHIT!" he roared throwing her against the wall. "Now go clean the house, you have double the work to do!" With that he stormed back to his position on the couch.

Marie wiped away the hot tears that fell from her eyes and began the endless task of cleaning up after Jeff.

**A/N:** **Did you like it? Feedback would be awesome. Suggestion****s**** and predictions are always welcome. I had a long author's note up top so I don't really have much to say. Please review!!! Oh and don't forget to vote for the HSM2 soundtrack for the AMAs. The link is in my profile. Thanks so much for reading!**


	6. Attacks

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters.**

**A/N: For some reason I have nothing to say except THANK YOU to everyone who is reading and reviewing. Well enjoy…**

_Last Time…_

_"DAMN RIGHT YOU SHOULD HAVE YOU WORTHLESS PIECE OF SHIT!" he roared throwing her against the wall. "Now go clean the house, you have double the work to do!" With that he stormed back to his position on the couch. _

_Marie wiped away the hot tears that fell from her eyes and began the endless task of cleaning up after Jeff._

**Chapter Fiv****e**

Attacks

"Ok class. Ready! Set! GO!" Troy said. His students began running around the room trying to clean it up. They picked up all the crayons, markers and colored pencils that had fallen on the ground.

"30 seconds!" Troy called out. This was the game Troy always played with his class when they were cleaning up. He would time them to see how fast they could clean up the room. If the room was clean in less than 3 minutes he would give them all candy.

"1 minute!" The kids were now on their hands and knees picking up little bits of construction paper.

"Don't forget the tops of the desks, there's still paint on them!" Troy reminded his class. About half the class jumped up and ran to get paper towels; then they began wiping the desks furiously.

"2 minutes!" Some kids were now throwing out the paper towels they had used to clean the desks. Others were organizing the 'Art Center'.

"2 minutes and 30 seconds!" Troy yelled. The kids ran to their desks and sat down looking hopefully at Troy. Not only did the room have to be clean but everyone had to be in their seats. Once all the kids were seat Troy called out,

"Time! 2 minutes and 47 seconds! Good job guys you beat 3 minutes!" The class cheered.

"Ok, ok now I just have to inspect" Troy said as he began walking around the classroom slowly. It quickly became dead quiet in the room as the kids waited for the verdict. Suddenly Troy heard coughing and wheezing coming from the other side of the room. He jerked his head over and saw that Emma was the one making the noise. Her face was pale and it was obvious that she was having trouble breathing. Troy rushed over to her as the students began to panic. As Troy got close to her it became apparent she was having an asthma attack. He knew there was an inhaler in Emma's backpack; Emma's mother had talked to him about it. Troy would have gotten it himself but Emma was getting anxious and more frightened as the seconds passed.

"Charlotte get Emma's inhaler out of her backpack, it's in the front pocket!" Troy ordered, he knew Emma and Charlotte were good friends.

"And Kevin go over to the phone and dial 9, tell the nurse Emma's having an asthma attack" Troy said, remaining calm. Charlotte came rushing over with the inhaler and handed it quickly to Troy, he could tell she was scared too, tears were threatening to fall. Troy gave the inhaler to Emma, who breathed it in quickly, taking slow, deep breaths. Troy rubbed her back gently in an effort to calm her down. She breathed with the help of her inhaler until the nurse came running in.

"How is she?"

"She's doing better; I just wanted to make sure she was ok." Troy explained.

"That's good, let me look at her" the nurse said softly. Troy stood up and let the nurse stand next to Emma. He turned to Charlotte, who was now crying.

"Hey, its ok, Emma is going be ok" Troy said softly, hugging Charlotte. She sniffled and broke the hug to say,

"It was just scary"

"I know, it was scary for me to"

"I'm glad you knew what to do" she said.

"I'm glad I did too" Troy said softly. "Now why don't you go sit back in your seat, I'm going to make sure everything is ok with Emma." Charlotte nodded and walked over to her seat. Troy turned around and saw that Emma was breathing now without her inhaler.

"She'll be fine, it was just a minor asthma attack." the nurse said.

"That's good, thank you"

"No thank you, it's good you caught it when you did. I'm just going to take her down to my office and check her over quickly and call her mother."

"Ok" Troy said as he watched the nurse escort Emma out of the classroom. He looked at his class and Jenna's hand shot into the air.

"Yes"

"Mr. Bolton what happened to Emma?" she asked worriedly as the rest of the class nodded in agreement.

"Emma has asthma. Sometimes it's hard for her to breathe. When that happens, she can't get air to her lungs. It's called asthma attack. We were lucky we caught when we did, because Emma only had a minor attack but sometimes it's much worse." Troy explained.

"What's an inhaler?" Henry asked.

"An inhaler is special medicine that Emma can breathe in to help open up the airway." Troy said. "Oh look at the time, it's lunchtime, you guys go on down to the cafeteria."

"But Mr. Bolton what about the candy? Did we pass the inspection?" A very concerned Connor asked. Troy laughed.

"Yes you passed the inspection and you guys can have the candy after lunch. Ok?"

"Ok" the children chimed as they got up from their seats, grabbed their lunches and left the room. Troy walked over to his desk and sat down, taking a deep breath. As soon as he had heard the noise Emma made fear had gripped him. The last time he heard that noise it was the scariest day of his life.

_Flashback_

_It was late fall and the 5th period P.E class was outside running the track. The track at East High was big. Unlike most tracks one lap was half a mile._

_"Ok today you have to complete 2 laps running and then you can play either, soccer, football, baseball or you can keep running." Coach Bolton explained. The class nodded. Troy loved gym class for exactly two reasons. First because he loved sports and second because this year he was lucky enough to have a bunch of his friends in his gym class, including his girlfriend, Gabriella._

_"Come on slow pokes let's go!" Troy and Chad joked as they ran past Taylor and Gabriella, who were jogging._

_"Well I'm sorry we're not as fast as the fastest runners in the class" Gabriella joked as Taylor laughed_

_"We know we're good" Chad said proudly_

_"Actually we were referring to Tim and Jason, look how fast they're going" Taylor said. The grins immediately fell from Troy and Chad's faces,_

_"Oh yeah well I bet we can beat them" Troy challenged._

_"Ok, we'll see, they look pretty fast" Gabriella smiled._

_"You're on" Chad said as the two raced off. Gabriella and Taylor laughed as they continued to jog, knowing full well that Troy and Chad would beat Tim and Jason._

_6 minutes and 17 seconds later Troy and Chad finished their mile._

_"Whooo!" Troy cheered high fiving Chad._

_"We did it! Everyone knows basketball players are better than football players!" Chad stated proudly._

_"You know it!" Troy exclaimed._

_"I know what?" Coach Bolton interjected._

_"Nothing" Troy said innocently._

_"Ok, well whatever it was it better not be causing trouble" he warned._

_"Not at all" Chad said._

_"Ok well go play" Coach said._

_"Ok what do you want to do? Soccer or baseball? We are not playing football, I hate football." Troy said._

_"Me too, let's play baseball" Chad said._

_"Cool" Troy agreed._

_2 minutes and 47 seconds after Troy and Chad had finished their mile Gabriella and Taylor finished._

_"So Gabs what do you want to do?" Taylor asked turning to Gabriella, who was coughing continuously. She was taking short quick breaths and wheezed every time she breathed in and out._

_"Gabriella are you ok?" Taylor asked, concerned for her friend. Gabriella shook her head as the wheezes became louder. Suddenly Taylor understood what was wrong, her friend was having an asthma attack._

_"Coach Bolton!" Taylor screamed. "Gabi needs help!"_

_Troy was in the middle of the field and heard all he needed hear to go running towards Gabriella. He arrived near her just after Coach Bolton did with Chad closely in tow._

_"What's going on?" Troy asked anxiously looking nervously at Gabriella whose face was getting paler as the seconds past._

_"She's having an asthma attack, she's needs her inhaler" Coach Bolton said._

_"But it's in her locker" Taylor said franticly._

_"I have one in my desk. Chad go get it and give it to the nurse, so she doesn't have to waste time looking for it. Taylor run ahead to the nurse and tell her what's happening." Coach Bolton ordered. "Troy we need to get her inside. Mr. Delgado, take over the class" Troy lifted her up bridal style and started walking briskly towards the building._

_As her breaths became weaker and shorter the wheezes louder. Gabriella's lips and tips of her fingers were blue. He could feel her trembling in fear in his arms. Troy was getting more and more worried as the minutes went by, although he refused to let Gabriella know that._

_When they arrived at the nurse's office the nurse was standing outside the door, holding it open. Troy carried Gabriella in and set her gently on one of the beds._

_"Ok everyone out!" the nurse ordered._

_"But-" Troy protested._

_"No buts Mr. Bolton, Out!" she ordered. Troy obeyed and slowly walked out._

_Outside in the hallway Taylor wasn't speaking, she was too scared while Chad was trying to comfort her. Coach Bolton was leaning up against as wall and Troy had started pacing up and down the hall. He had never felt more afraid in his life. This feeling was new to him. The feeling that his heart was being ripped out, the thought of losing her, scared him out of his wits._

_"Troy pacing won't help" Coach Bolton said._

_"Well, I can't just stand still! Why didn't anyone tell me her asthma could get this bad?"_

_"I thought you knew" Coach Bolton said._

_"Well, I knew she had asthma, but I didn't know it could be this bad." Troy said._

_"She told me not to worry, that she hadn't had an attack since she was 8" Taylor said softly. "She didn't want to worry us"_

_Troy sighed, "That's Gabi, never wanting anyone to worry. I just want to know she's ok"_

_"I'm sure she'll be fine, Mrs. Gizzi is specially trained to treat asthma attacks." Coach Bolton assured his son._

_Just then the bell rang, signaling 5th period was over._

_"I take it you guys aren't going to 6th period." Coach Bolton said._

_"I'm not leaving this spot until I know Gabriella is ok" Troy said firmly and Taylor and Chad nodded in agreement._

_"Ok then, well I'm going to call Mrs. Montez"_

_Finally, an excruciating hour and a half later Mrs. Gizzi came out. Troy, Chad, Taylor, Coach Bolton and by this time Mrs. Montez stood up and looked at the nurse anxiously._

_"As you know Ms. Montez experienced an asthma attack and a relatively serve one at that." Mrs. Gizzi explained. "Thankfully you got her here in time and I was able to get it under control. Now, she is a little shaken from the experience and she is still breathing weakly, but she is ok" They all let of a sigh of relief. "So, I suggest she goes home for the rest of the day" The nurse continued motioning to Mrs. Montez._

_"Can I see her?" Troy asked._

_"I suppose you may each see her before she goes home, but only one at a time" the nurse said sternly. The three teenagers nodded and quickly decided to let Troy go in first._

_Troy opened the door and slowly made his way inside. He walked over to the bed Gabriella was laying in. Her eyes were gently closed, some of the color had returned to her face, but it was pale and her breathing was still a little wheezy. He slowly lowered himself on the side of the bed and ran his hand gently down the side of her face. Her eyes opened and she smiled._

_"I heard you beat Tim and Jason" she said softly._

_"Where did you hear that?"_

_"I heard you go whooo" she laughed weakly. Troy laughed a little too, but when he stopped he just stared loving at Gabriella, stroking her hair._

_"What's wrong?" she asked softly._

_"I've never been more afraid in my life" Troy said._

_"Surely you've watched a movie that scared you more" Gabriella said quietly. Troy shook his head._

_"No, that was by far the scariest moment of my life. I thought I was going to lose you"_

_"I'm always here Troy, always" she smiled softly. Troy leaned in and kissed her slowly._

_"I glad you're ok." he said after the kiss broke._

_"I love you" Gabriella said._

_"I love you too Gabi"_

_End Flashback_

From that day on he had kept an inhaler with him, worried that she would have an attack again, but it never did. Troy sighed again and began to eat his lunch.

* * *

Later that day Troy sat in a booth at The Red Oak Diner waiting for Marie to join him. They met almost every day. It had been about a month since Troy had met Marie, and every time he saw it became harder not to just grab her and kiss her.

Soon Marie arrived at the table.

"Hi" she said softly.

"Hey" Troy said "How are you?"

"I'm ok. How are you?"

"I'm good thanks." Troy said, then he noticed something on her hand, it looked like a burn. "What happened?" he asked referring to her hand. He noticed she became nervous, but didn't pursue it.

"Oh I um, I was um boiling water and some spilled on my hand" She explained. "But it's nothing to worry about, I'm fine, really" She quickly assured him. "So, how was school today?" she asked changing the topic.

About half an hour later, after Troy had filled Marie in on the events of the day Marie looked up and saw someone standing before her. Immediately fear filled her eyes.

**A/N: Oh I wonder who it could possibly be. Why don't you take a wild guess? I hope you liked that chapter and I'd really like to know if you thought it was a total waste of a chapter or not. Please review!!!**


	7. Meetings and Concerns

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters.**

**A/N: Ok most of you guessed right, but I think it was pretty obvious! Sorry I haven't updated in while but I've had a ton of work to do for school and I wrote a one-shot called My Voice, you should check it out!! You know I realized that I rant about my life here, but I never ask you about yours so, How are you guys? Another thing I realized is that I always thank you guys for reading and reviewing but I should also thank you for adding the story to your favorites/alerts and me to your favorites/alerts. So a big, make that HUGE thank you to everyone who added me to this favorites and/or alerts for all my stories!! Ok I blabbed enough, let's get on with it. Enjoy…**

_Last Time…_

_"Hi" she said softly._

_"Hey" Troy said "How are you?"_

_"I'm ok. How are you?"_

_"I'm good thanks." Troy said, then he noticed something on her hand, it looked like a burn. "What happened?" he asked referring to her hand. He noticed she became nervous, but didn't pursue it._

_"Oh I um, I was um boiling water and some spilled on my hand" She explained. "But it's nothing to worry about, I'm fine, really" She quickly assured him. "So, how was school today?" she asked changing the topic. _

_About half an hour later, after Troy had filled Marie in on the events of the day Marie looked up and saw someone standing before her.__ Immediately fear filled her eyes._

**Chapter Six**

Meetings and Concerns

There was Josh standing before the pair looking questioningly at them. Troy stood up and introduced himself,

"Hi, I'm Troy Bolton."

"I'm Jeff Sander, Marie's fiancé" Jeff said.

"Well it's nice to meet you. And congratulations, you're one lucky man" Troy commented,

"Some would say that. But anyway we have to go" Jeff said taking Marie's arm.

"But I-I have to work in an hour" Marie said softly.

"I know, but I really need you to come home" Jeff argued.

"Ok, I guess I'll just come back later. Bye Troy" she said softly as Jeff pulled her out of the diner quickly.

Troy sat back down in the chair and sighed, he didn't like this Jeff guy so much. Something about him was odd. Letting out another sigh, Troy got up and paid the bill before exiting the diner.

* * *

Once they had gotten outside Jeff had glared evilly at Marie. _"I'm in for it" she thought_. After shoving her in the car Jeff sped home.

Jeff swerved into a parking spot and grabbed Marie by the arm, pulling her forcefully up to their apartment. He opened the door and threw her inside.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?" he screamed.

"I…I…we…were just eating" Marie stuttered nervously.

"OH YEAH SURE, YOU LITTLE SLUT!!!! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW LUCKY YOU ARE TO HAVE ME?" Jeff yelled.

"He's just my friend" Marie said softly.

"NO ONE WOULD WANT TO BE FRIENDS WITH YOU!!! YOU ARE THE MOST UGLY, STUPID WOMAN I HAVE EVER MET. AND YOU ARE SO LUCKY I HAVEN'T DITCHED YOU" Jeff yelled slapping her across the face. "YOU STAY AWAY FROM THAT BOLTON. UNDERSTOOD?" When Jeff was not given an immediate response he grabbed her by the collar and yelled at her,

"UNDERSTOOD?"

"Yes" Marie chocked out.

"Good" Jeff said throwing her on the ground. He stormed off leaving Marie on the ground crying.

* * *

A few days later Marie was at work waitressing table, when a certain man came into the diner. She tried to avoid him, but it proved impossible. He managed to come up from behind her,

"Hey are you free after your shift to have lunch?"

"Troy, I…I…can't" Marie said softly.

"Why not?"

"I'm working another shift" she said.

"No it's ok Marie, why don't you take the rest of the day off, you've worked really hard these last couple days" Joe insisted as he passed by.

"But, I…I have to work…I…it's…he…I…I just have to" she stuttered.

"I think you need a break Marie" Troy said softly "You look really tired come on" he said touching her arm. Marie flinched at his touch and quickly tried to hide it.

"No, I'm fine" she insisted.

"Marie, come on just 1 hour, you deserve it" Troy said.

"I don't deserve anything." She said quietly.

"Of course you do, now come on" Troy said.

"Fine, but just 1 hour" She said giving in, knowing that she wasn't going to win this war. Troy grinned, leading her over to a table. Marie sat down cautiously.

"So how have you been?" Troy asked.

"Fine" Marie answered softly.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah I'm fine. How are you?" she asked changing the subject.

"I've been good" Troy answered studying Marie carefully. They made eye contact and Marie quickly looked away. It was then that Troy noticed a bruise on the side of her neck.

"Marie! What happened?" he exclaimed.

"Huh?"

"Your neck, what happened?" Troy asked. Marie began to panic, what was she going to tell him? She quickly covered her neck with her hand.

"Oh, it's nothing" she said quickly.

"Marie, it is obviously something." Troy said concerned.

"No, I'm fine." She insisted.

"Marie if-" Troy was cut off by the sound of Marie's phone ringing. _"Saved by the bell" she thought_

"Hello" she answered. "Y-yes I'm at the diner. I know, I'm sorry, I'm really sorry. Ok yes of course. I understand" she said shakily. She hung up the phone and stood up.

"I'm really sorry Troy, but I've got to go" she said nervously.

"You do?" Troy asked sadly.

"Yeah, I-I've gotta get home" she said

"OK, well I'll see you later." He said hopefully. Marie nodded.

"Bye" she said.

"Bye" he said watching her dash off. Something wasn't right, he could feel it in his blood, she wasn't telling him something, and that worried him. He needed to talk to someone to make sure he wasn't going crazy. He needed Chad and Taylor. He knew they would be eating dinner by the time he got there, but he needed them. Troy got up from the table and walked briskly to his car.

After half an hour he arrived at the Danforths' house. He rang the doorbell and waited patiently for someone to answer. A few seconds later Taylor opened the door,

"Hello Troy" she greeted.

"Hi Taylor, um can I come in?"

"Yeah sure come on, we're just eating dinner I'll grab you a plate."

"Thanks" Troy said following Taylor into the kitchen, where Chad and Chris were stuffing their faces, like father like son.

"Uncle Troy!" Chris greeted giving Troy a full view of the contents of his mouth.

"Hey little buddy." Troy said

"What are you doing here man?" Chad asked. Troy sighed.

"I need to clear my head" Troy said.

"What's wrong?" Taylor asked putting a plate in front of him before taking her place at the table.

"It's about Marie" Troy confessed. "I'm worried, I have this awful feeling in the pit of my stomach that something is horribly wrong"

"Well analyze the situation, what has happened over the last few days that has led you to this conclusion" Taylor coached.

"Well, I met her fiancé, he seems odd and she seemed different around him. Then today I saw her and she seemed really nervous for some reason. I don't know what it was. Then I noticed a bruise on her neck and that just made it worse. I just can't figure out why she is so…so nervous." Troy explained.

"How do you get a bruise on your neck?" Chad asked.

"I don't know, you see that's why I'm worried."

"Well what did she say?" Taylor asked.

"She just insisted that she was ok" Troy said. "She never told me what happened."

"Maybe she doesn't wanna" Chris said. Troy looked over at the little boy. "Or maybe she doesn't want to get in trouble. Like sometimes when I do something bad, I don't wanna tell mommy and daddy cause they might get mad"

"But I would get mad" Troy said.

"Maybe she doesn't want to get someone else in trouble for hurting her" Chris said. Troy stared at him blankly thinking hard,

"Holy shit, it all makes sense" he blurted out.

**A/N: What has Troy figured out??? I know this was short but the next chapter is longer and much more dramatic. Thanks so much for reading, please review!!!!!**


	8. It All Makes Sense

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters.**

**A/N: Thank you again for all the support.****Enjoy…**

_Last Time…_

_"Maybe she doesn't want to get someone else in trouble for hurting her" Chris said. Troy stared at him blankly thinking hard, _

_"Holy shit, it all makes sense" he blurted out._

**Chapter Seven**

It All Makes Sense

"Chris honey why don't you go play with your Lego for a bit. Mommy and Daddy need to talk to Uncle Troy about something."

"Ok mommy!" Chris answered jumping down from the table and running into the family room. Once he had exited the room Taylor exclaimed,

"Troy! You can't curse in front of Chris. Last time Chad did that Chris said 'fuck that hurts' when he cut his knee. I swear that boy repeats everything he hears."

"Sorry, it's just…I…I've got to go" Troy exclaimed clearly frazzled by the situation.

"Woah, Troy chill. Do you want to explain?" Chad said.

"It all makes sense now, the song, the calls, the look, the nervousness, the bruises everything. How could I have missed it? God I am so stupid." Troy yelled slamming his fist on the table

"Troy calm down. You are not stupid. Now I am not letting you out of this house until you explain to us what the hell you are talking about." Taylor said sternly.

"Jeff's abusing Marie" Troy stated simply.

"How did you figure that out?" Chad asked.

"Whenever his name is mentioned or he calls her or is standing near her she gets this look of fear in her eye. She obeys his every command without question. She shows up with bruises and burns and then gets nervous when I ask her about them. Whenever I touch her or even raise my hand up she flinches. She told me her favorite song was Your Guardian Angel, meaning she wants someone to save her. For god's sake she asked me if I would ever hit someone I loved. How could I be so blind?" Troy explained.

"Wow you're right." Chad agreed.

"I know, and that bastard is hurting Gabriella, and that doesn't work in my book. I've gotta go." Troy said quickly.

"Ok Troy, go get her. Just be careful" Taylor warned.

"I will." Troy promised walking out of the kitchen towards the front door until he was stopped by Chris,

"Uncle Troy, where are you going?"

"Uncle Troy has to go help someone in trouble. He'll come by soon though." Troy said.

"Ok, bye Uncle Troy, have fun saving!"

"Bye little buddy." Troy said before closing the door behind him. Troy ran as fast as he could to his car and drove full speed towards Gabriella's house.

_"Wait shit, __I don't__ know where she lives" he thought_

"Dammit!" he yelled slamming on the brakes. _"Come on Bolton think! Think__Joe! Of course I bet he has the addresses of all his employees." Troy thought._ Putting the car in full speed he sped towards the diner.

He swerved his car into a parking spot and bolted into the diner, receiving strange looks from the customers, who were seated.

"Joe! Joe!" he panted running up to the manager.

"Whoa, calm down. What's up?" Joe asked coolly.

"I need Marie's address." Troy stated.

"Troy, I can't give that away. That is private information" Joe explained.

"Joe please, I need it." Troy begged.

"I'm sorry but I can't."

"But Jeff is abusing her and I have to get her out of there!" Troy explained quickly.

"Are you sure?" Joe asked.

"Yes, please Joe, I just don't want her to get hurt" Troy begged.

"You still love her don't you?"

"Yeah and I never stopped" Troy said softly.

"Alright, I guess you can have her address. Let's see…" Joe said looking through his files. "Ah, here we go Hillside Apartments. Do you know where that is?"

"Yes, yes I do, thank you so much" Troy said turning to run back to his car.

"Wait Troy, do you want to know what her apartment number is?"

"Right" Troy said turning back around.

"120" Joe said.

"Thank you." Troy said before dashing off, back to his car.

* * *

After her long walk home, Marie was exhausted. She slowly opened the door to her apartment and walked inside. Suddenly she heard Jeff yell, 

"I'm hungry! Get me food now, bitch!"

Marie quickly scurried into the kitchen and began cooking spaghetti and meatballs. 30 minutes later the meal was ready and she put the spaghetti and meatballs in a bowl and brought it out to Jeff.

"Here you go" she said softly.

"Now where is my beer?" he demanded.

"Um, I'll go get it" she said.

"I want 2 by the way!" he called after her. A few seconds later she returned with 2 bottles of beer.

"Good, now clean woman, this house is a fucking mess!" Jeff ordered. Marie nodded and began cleaning the kitchen.

20 minutes later she heard Jeff yelled,

"Where is my dessert?" Nervously she walked out to the family room, where Jeff was sitting and spoke softly,

"Um, we're out"

"Excuse me?"

"We don't have any dessert left" Marie said quietly.

"WHAT!" a drunken Jeff yelled. "YOU STUPID ASS! DIDN'T YOU BUY ANY AT THE STORE?"

"I…I thought we had some" she stammered.

"WELL YOU THOUGHT WRONG!" Jeff bellowed standing up.

"I…I'm sorry"

"YOU SHOULD BE!" Jeff screamed hitting her harshly. "GOD I DO EVERYTHING AROUND HERE"

"YOU REALLY ARE THE STUPIDEST WOMAN I HAVE EVER MET!" he yelled kicking her in the gut.

"By the way what took you so long to get home?" He asked calming down the slightest bit.

"I…I was…wit…working and then I had to wa…walk home" she stammered.

"YOU WERE WITH SOMEONE WEREN'T YOU!" he bellowed.

"No…no I…I was working"

"DON'T LIE TO ME! YOU LITTLE SLUT. WHO WERE YOU WITH?" he yelled grabbing her arms and lifting her up so that she was face to face with him.

"No…no one"

"TELL ME!" he yelled squeezing her arms harder. Marie winced in pain and gave in.

"Troy" she said quietly, but that was it took. In one swift movement he threw he towards the coffee table, the corner jabbing into her back. Soon he was towering over her again.

"I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM THAT BASTARD!"

"I…I'm sorry" Marie cried, tears streaming from her eyes because of the pain she was in.

"SORRY DOESN'T CUT IT!" He roared kicking her harder than before. Suddenly the door burst open and a voice yelled,

"What the fuck are you doing?" Troy walked into the room, his face boiling with anger.

"What the hell are you doing here Bolton?" Jeff yelled.

"I came to make sure Marie was ok. And it is obvious she's not!" Troy yelled.

"Well what are you going to do about it?" Jeff provoked.

"This" Troy said simply before punching Jeff square in the face. "YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO HURT HER! EVER!" Troy yelled.

"YOU DID NOT JUST DO THAT!" Jeff yelled back swinging his fist at Troy, but Troy dodged it. "AND FYI I CAN DO WHATEVER THE HELL I WANT TO HER! SHE'S MY FUCKING FIANCE!"

"THAT DOESN'T GIVE YOU THE RIGHT TO HURT HER! YOU BASTARD" Troy shouted.

"IT'S NOT LIKE SHE IS SMART ENOUGH TO CARE!" When Jeff said that it pushed Troy over the edge, he lunged out and punched Jeff again harder than before causing Jeff to fall to the ground.

"DON'T YOU DARE COME NEAR HER AGAIN!" he yelled before kicking Jeff in the stomach one final time.

Troy moved quickly over to Marie, who was sobbing and shaking.

Slowly he approached her, not wanting to scare her.

"Shh, it's ok, you're safe now" Troy coaxed gently rubbing her back. "Come on let's get you to the hospital."

"No!" she cried "Please no, don't take me to the hospital"

"But Marie, you're hurt." He reasoned.

"Please" she begged.

"Fine, but at least let me take you back to my place, you're not staying here." Marie just nodded, tears still falling from her eyes. Troy lifted her up, bridal style and carried her to his car.

They arrived at Troy's house 20 minutes later and Marie still hadn't said anything. Slowly, Marie got herself out of the car, under the watchful eye of Troy. He led her into the apartment.

"Do you need anything?" he asked softly. Marie shook her head.

"Are you sure?"

"No I'm fine. Do you need anything?" she asked. Troy was completely shocked, here she was in an incredible amount of pain and yet she was asking him if he need anything.

"No, I am fine. Please don't worry about me." Troy said.

"C…can I g…go to bed?" Marie asked nervously.

"Yes, of course you can. Follow me." Troy assured her as led her into his guest bedroom. "You can sleep here. Please make yourself at home and if you need anything please come and get me, I'm just in the room next door. I don't care what time it is, come in and get me. Ok?" Troy said softly. Marie nodded.

"Good, ok well good night."

"Good night. And thank you Troy." Marie said softly.

"You're very welcome." Troy said before closing the door. Marie stood in the middle of the floor contemplating her feelings. She didn't know what to think. For the first time in her life, she was being treated like a human. In some ways this scared her, she was unsure of what to do. Not bothering to change out her clothes she climbed slowly into the bed, wincing as she muscles hurt. She pulled the covers up and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

The next morning, Troy opened his eyes and could smell something coming from the kitchen, it smelled good. 

_"What the hell is that smell. Oh god, please don't tell__ me my mother stopped by again. She'll interrogate me about Marie and then go on about how I've got to get over Gabriella. God please tell me it's not her" Troy thought_.

He jumped out of his bed and pulled on a pair of sweat pants and a sweat shirt. He opened his bedroom door and walked into the kitchen. As soon as he saw who was in the kitchen, he immediately asked,

"What are you doing here?"

**A/N:** **YAY!! Marie is away from Jeff, god I hate him (as do many of you!) But who is the kitchen?? Any guesses? Thank you so much for all the reviews that have been coming in! You guys are the best! Please keep reviewing.**


	9. Pancakes, Pain and Shopping

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters.**

**A/N: So, congratulations to **_PinkIchigo17, __zvforever, __cinderella317__ and __ginafan_ **they were the only people who guessed correctly!! Good job guys! Anyway thank you so much for all the reviews!! Sorry I didn't reply to your review as quickly as I usually do but I was in San Francisco and had no computer. I loved getting the reviews when I got back. Well, enjoy…**

_Last Time…_

_The next morning, Troy opened his eyes and could smell something coming from the kitchen, it smelled good._

_"What the hell is that smell. Oh god, please don't tell me my mother stopped by again. She'll interrogate me about Marie and then go on about how I've got to get over Gabriella. God please tell me it's not her" Troy thought._

_He jumped out of his bed and pulled on a pair of sweat pants and a sweat shirt. He opened his bedroom door and walked into the kitchen. As soon as he saw who was in the kitchen, he immediately asked,_

_"What are you doing here?"_

**Chapter Eight**

Pancakes, Pain and Shopping

Marie looked up at Troy with terrified eyes and Troy immediately knew he had made a mistake.

"I…I…I thought…I w…would m…make you b…breakfast. I…didn't kn...know t…that I wasn't s…supposed to." Marie stuttered nervously.

"No, no it's ok. Thank you for making me breakfast, but I should be the one making you food. Why don't you go sit down while I finish this?" Troy said softly.

"Are you sure?" Marie asked.

"Positive. Go ahead and turn on the TV" Troy said walking over to the stove. Marie nodded and walked slowly towards the living room.

Troy watched her as she walked out of the room, before he turned towards the stove, continuing to cook the pancakes.

He still couldn't believe that she had gotten up to cook for him; it was 7, which meant she must have been up at, at least 6:30. He sighed,

_"Why would she do this? Jeff must have treated her like a slave. I have to fix this. Before I start worrying about getting her to remember I need her to be happy and comfortable again." __Troy__ thought. _

A few minutes later, when the pancakes were done, Troy put them on a platter, grabbed two plates, maple syrup, two knives, two forks, two glasses, orange juice and walked into the living room. Marie was sitting up on the couch watching Channel 1 News. Troy set everything down on the coffee table, pulled it closer and sat down next to Marie.

"Would you like some orange juice?" Troy asked Marie.

"Yes please" she replied softly. Troy poured them some orange and put pancakes on their and plate.

Marie began eating the pancakes slowly.

"Troy, these are delicious" she said.

"Marie all the credit goes to you and you're right they are good. You might just be the best pancake maker in the world" He said. Marie giggled.

"Thank you Troy"

"For what? You deserve every bit of thanks you're given" Troy replied softly.

"You've done so much for me Troy. You really don't have to do this all. I mean letting me stay here, are you sure? I wouldn't want to intrude."

"Marie, please don't worry about it. I just want you to be happy, where ever you are." Troy explained softly.

"Thank you" she smiled. Troy smiled back, wishing he could lean over and kiss her although he knew he couldn't.

10 minutes later they had finished their pancakes and Marie stood up and began piling everything Troy had put down on the coffee table in her arms.

"Whoa, let me help you with that." Troy said quickly taking half of the items out of her hands. They walked into the kitchen and placed the stuff on the counter. As the pair began putting things away Marie kept looking at Troy, opening her mouth to say something but then looking away. Troy began getting very suspicious of her behavior.

"Do you want to ask me something?" Troy asked kindly.

"I…I was just wondering i…if maybe I could take a shower." She said softly. Troy just stared at her. _"You're kidding right? She just asked me she could take a shower."_

"I'm sorry I should have waited until you told me I could. If you want to take one first then I totally understand. I promise I won't use up all the water." Marie babbled nervously. Troy suddenly realized that he hadn't responded and he snapped back into reality.

"No, no of course you can take a shower. Use as much water as you like. My house is your house. Ok?"

"Ok. But um where is the shower?" Marie asked softly.

"Oh right. You can use the one in here." Troy said leading her towards the bathroom. "There are towels in the cupboard."

"Ok thanks" she replied.

"Yup, see you in a bit." Troy said walking back into the kitchen. He finished cleaning up and then went back into the living room and plopped himself down in front of the TV. The Lakers game was on, so he watched that. However the entire time he couldn't focus on the game.

His thoughts were consumed with Gabriella. He couldn't believe she was standing his shower at this very moment. When in his past there were times when he felt he might die. When he felt there was no point in living.

_Flashback_

_It had been __3__ months since Gabriella had been missing. Troy__ wasn't the same man he had been 3 months prior. _

_He rarely flashed that famous Troy Bolton smile. His eyes remained a gray color__ instead of their usual vibrant blue. Everything someone did or said reminded him of her. There wasn't a moment that went by that he didn't think of her. _

_It was the beginning of the day and Troy was sitting in homeroom. Mrs. Darbus h__ad just walked in, to begin class. _

_"Good morning, everyone.__ Now, before we begin I have a few announcements to make. Today is the final day to submit suggestions for next year's musical. Please submit as many as you like that way I have more to choose from. Next I have decided to switch the seats around. So, everyone stand up!" Mrs. Darbus said. _

_Reluctantly Troy stood up __and his eyes fell on the empty desk behind him. That was Gabriella's seat, and there was no way anyone else was sitting in it._

_Mrs. Darbu__s began walking around the room; s__he would point to a desk, and then call out the person's name she wanted to sit there. Mrs. Darbus was two seats away from Gabriella's seat._

_"__Jason…here__ Rachel__….here__, and Greg you can sit here." Mrs. Darbus motioned to Gabriella's seat._

_"Wait no, Mrs. Darbus you can't give him that seat, that's Gabriella's seat." Troy pleaded._

_"Mr. Bolton, Ms. Montez, isn't here" Mrs. Darbus said sternly._

_"But she might be tomorrow" Troy argued._

_"Mr. Bolton, she has been gone for 3 months. You know just as well as I do that she is not coming back." _

_"How can you say that__She's not gone, she's missing" Troy yelled. "Please just don't say she's gone, please just let me sit there at least" Troy pleaded his voice softening. _

_"Alright__, Mr. Bolton you may sit there." Mrs. Darbus gave in, her voice falling from its usual loud tone. _

_"Thank you" Troy said softly, sliding into the chair. The rest of the class was a __blur,__ he couldn't concentrate on anything that anyone was saying. _

_After hi__s minor explosion, the class had been__ looking at him strangely. He knew they didn't understand. They did__n't__ know what it was like to feel like your heart was being ripped out, to hear her voice whenever__ anyone__ said anything she had said before, to see her sta__nding in the stands cheering you__ on, and to wonder why she ha__d been taken away instead of you__. Everyone had given up, Troy refused to believe that she was dead, but now whenever he said that she wasn't he wasn't convincing anyone but himself. Was there really a point in living anymore? His life was miserable. If he took his own life then he could be her again. _

_That day during lunch, he said absolutely nothing. Everyone kept trying to get him to say something, anything but he didn't say a word – his thoughts were consuming his brain. _

_Suddenly he blurted out, without thinking,_

_"Will I be missed?"_

_"WHAT?" the gang questioned. _

_"Troy what are you talking about?" Taylor asked._

_"Nothing, it's nothing" Troy said trying to cover his mistake._

_"Troy, come on man, what did you mean by that. You don't just blurt something out after not saying anything the entire lunch period." Chad coaxed. _

_"No" Troy said quietly it doesn't matter_

_"Of course it matters Troy__" Taylor__ said. _

_"Troy Bolton__ You weren't thinking of what I think you were thinking of?" Kelsi exclaimed suddenly. Troy knew she knew what he was thinking. He nodded slowly._

_"Troy! You can't do that, what about Gab__riella? What about your friends!__ What about your team? What about your family?" Kelsi exclaimed._

_"I can't live without her" Troy said quietly._

_"Troy!" Taylor exclaimed as she understood what Kelsi meant. "You know just as well as I do, that Gabriella would not want this. What would she say if you she knew you thought about that?"_

_"What if she came back and you were dead?" Kelsi said, "Then what do we tell her?" _

_"Troy, what did Gabi, alwa__ys __say__ to you?" Chad asked Troy._

_"She always said__'__loving you is like breathing__ I can never stop__'__." Troy said softly. _

_"So if you kill yourself__ are you giving up on love?" Kelsi questioned._

_"No, I can never stop loving __her,__ it's just becoming too hard to go through every day without seeing her." Troy explained._

_"Troy, you're the one who said that you see and hear her every day" Taylor said._

_"Yeah but I can't really and it hurts"_

_"It hurts us all Troy, but you can't give up" Kelsi said. "No matter what happens you know that she loves you more than anything in this world."_

_"You're right. I'm sorry guys, I just…" Troy began._

_"It's ok, you had a moment, just remember we are always here" Taylor said softly. _

_End Flashback_

How could he have done that, given up on her like that? From that day on, although it had been hard, he had never again given up. Now he was so thankful that his friends stopped him from killing himself, Gabriella was still alive. Sure, she didn't know what her real name was but she was here, he could see her and hear her properly now. Her voice was music to his ears.

Just then he felt a light tap on his shoulder. He jumped slightly, snapping himself out of his thoughts.

"Hey" he greeted warmly to the woman standing behind him.

"Hi" Marie replied. Troy looked at her, taking in all of beauty, until something struck him,

"Do you have any things at your apartment that you want?" he asked suddenly.

"No, not really" she said shaking her head, her hand grasped the necklace around her neck and she spoke softly, "This is the only thing I have" Troy smiled, thankful that she still had the necklace he had given her.

"Are you sure?" he asked softly.

"Yeah, apart from like 2 shirts and a pair of pants"

"Well, we'll have to fix that. Won't we?" Troy said as he turned off the TV and stood up.

"Huh?"

"Come on we are going shopping. You need some clothes." Troy said motioning her to follow.

"But Troy, I don't have any money" Marie argued gently.

"Doesn't matter, I have money"

"I…I can't let you do that. Troy, no"

"Marie, please. Answer this truthfully, when was the last time anyone bought you anything?"

"Um, never, but only because I don't deserve anything"

"Listen to me. Don't let anyone tell you, you don't deserve things. Everyone deserves something, expect for those who don't earn it. And I think you've earned it." Troy said sternly but gently.

"That's the nicest thing that's ever been said to me. Thank you Troy" she replied thankfully.

"You're welcome. Now come one, we have a lot to do."

* * *

4 ½ hours later both Troy and Marie were exhausted. They had bought practically a whole new wardrobe for her. The pair was walking out to the car. Marie opened the passenger seat door as Troy put the bags in the back. He walked around to the driver's side and opened the door, to get in. 

"Thanks again" Marie said for the hundredth time that day.

"You're welcome. Hey is it ok if we drop by my friends' house?" Troy asked.

"Yeah, if they don't mind having me"

"They won't mind, trust me." Troy answered before driving towards Taylor and Chad's house.

20 minutes later the pair arrived at the Danforths' house.

Troy led Marie up to the front door and he rang the doorbell.

"Coming!" Taylor's voice yelled from inside the house. She opened the door and grinned.

"Troy! Hey! Come in, I'll get Chad and Chris." Taylor greeted before she yelled,

"CHAD! CHRIS! TROY IS HERE!"

"Hi Taylor." Troy said as he stepped into the house. Marie followed cautiously. "Oh and Taylor, this is Marie." Troy introduced. "Marie, this is Taylor I've known her and her husband since high school."

Taylor shook Marie's hand. "It's nice to meet you" Taylor said kindly.

"You too" Marie replied quietly. Just then Chad entered the room,

"Yo! Chad is in the house!" he exclaimed "Wait, this is my house so I'm always here, so I guess that doesn't really make sense. Does it? Oh well" Chad rambled randomly.

"O…K" Troy said slowly. "Chad, this is Marie, Marie this is Chad"

"Hey" Chad greeted, extending his arm.

"Hi" Marie said softly shaking Chad's hand just as Chris came running into the room.

"Uncle Troy!" he yelled happily jumping into Troy's arms.

"Hey little man! How are you?"

"Good!" Chris replied.

"Who's dat?" Chris asked blatantly pointing at Marie.

"This is my friend Marie" Troy said. "Marie, this is Chris, he is Taylor and Chad's son."

Troy looked over at Marie, her face was pale and eyes were unblinking, there was something wrong.

"Marie? Are you ok?" he asked genuinely concerned. Marie wrapped her arms around her lower torso

"I…I…I…can…can…I…do…you have bathroom" she stuttered nervously.

"Yes down the hall on the right" Taylor answered.

"Thank you" Marie said quickly before she dashed down the hallway, tears flooding out of her eyes.

**A/N: Why is Marie crying? Any guesses? That chapter was longer than I thought it would ****be,**** which is good. I wasn't sure if the flashback was pointless or not, but I like flashbacks so I put it in. ****You have to remember that Marie has been treated like she is worthless for so long, that's why she is always thanking Troy. Please review! Oh wait I almost forgot, my friend, **littledarlingdesi14 **has written a poem about my story Without You and it is amazing! So if you like Without ****You**** then you should totally check the poem out! Thanks again for reading please review!**


	10. Pulpy Orange Juice

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters.**

**A/N:****A big thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter!!**** Some of you were ****sort**** of right or really close, but **HSMgirl102, Silver Apocalypse and Ginny-and-Draco-fan** were the only people**** who got**** exactly**** why Marie was upset. Good job you guys!!! Anyways let's get on with the story because most of you are dying to know what's going to happen.**

_Last Time…_

_"Who's __dat__?" Chris asked blatantly pointing at Marie._

_"This is my friend Marie" Troy said. "Marie, this is Chris, he is Taylor and Chad's son."_

_Troy looked over at Marie, her face was pale and eyes were unblinking, there was something wrong. _

_"Marie? Are you ok?" he asked genuinely concerned. Marie wrapped her arms around her lower torso_

_"I…I…I…can…can…I…do…you have bathroom" she stuttered nervously._

_"Yes down the hall on the right" Taylor answered._

_"Thank you" Marie said quickly before she dashed down the hallway, tears flooding out of her eyes. _

**Chapter Nine**

Pulpy Orange Juice

The three adults stood in complete shock as they watched Marie dash off to the bathroom. Troy tried to make his way towards the bathroom but Taylor stopped him,

"She obviously doesn't want us right now, I think it would be best if we just left her for a while." She spoke softly.

"Does she not like me?" Chris asked tearfully. Troy bent down to Chris's level.

"She likes you Chris don't worry. Marie has just been through a lot." Troy said softly.

"What has she been through?" Chris asked. Troy sighed.

"She had another friend who was mean to her" Troy said, trying his best to explain to the little boy without getting too graphic.

"Oh, so she's sad because of that"

"Yeah, but we don't want to remind of that. So don't talk about it. Ok?"

"Ok!" Chris said brightly.

"Chris, why don't you go back to your room and play for a bit?" Taylor said softly.

"Ok mommy" Chris said happily as he rushed upstairs to his room.

The adults watched Chris as he ran happily up the stairs.

"So, Troy…do you know why?" Taylor asked slowly.

"I have no idea. She's been through so much. Jeff must have treated her like the scum of the earth. She got up at 6:30 just to make me pancakes. When I found her in the kitchen I told her to go into the living and watch TV while I finished the pancakes. Then when she was eating them, she thanked _me_ for making them" Troy explained.

"But she did the hard part" Chad said.

"I know, that's why I was shocked."

"Poor Gabi, she doesn't deserve this" Taylor said softly.

"Nobody deserves to live the way Gabriella has been living." Troy sighed. Chad and Taylor nodded.

"So man how are you holding up?" Chad asked.

"What do you mean?" Troy asked.

"I mean she is staying in your apartment, Gabriella Montez! The girl you've been missing for all these years" Chad explained. Troy sighed.

"I wish I could hold her and touch her the way I used to be able to, but it's too soon. She needs to learn that she's important and not worthless before we can start to introduce Gabriella Montez back into her life again."

"You're right. She needs to learn to trust us" Taylor said.

"I'm going to go make sure she is ok." Troy said slowly.

"Ok, are you guys going to stay for dinner?" Taylor asked.

"Um, yeah unless she wants to go home." Troy replied.

"Ok cool" Taylor said. Troy began walking towards the bathroom, as he approached he could hear sobbing. His heart ripped in two, hearing her in so much pain. Slowly he lifted his hand up and knocked gently on the door.

"Marie? Are you alright?" he asked gently. Troy could hear her sniffling and a few seconds later she opened the door. When he saw her face his heart broke in two again, her eyes were red and puffy and her face was still pale.

"Marie" He whispered softly.

"I'm sorry, I…I shouldn't have run off like that, it's just…I…it hurts" she replied quietly.

"What hurts?" Troy asked. Marie's eyes closed tightly as she attempted to prevent tears from rolling down her face, but she failed miserably, tears began falling down her face as she covered her heart with her hand.

"On the night Jeff proposed, we had sex. It was the only time we ever did it, because he said I was so completely useless at it. Then a while later I found out I was pregnant. I decided to wait until I was 3 ½ months along before I told him." Marie recalled. As the memory came flooding back to her she explained it to Troy.

_Flashback_

_Marie walked into her apartment, slowly and cautiously, afraid of the task she needed to complete. She found Jeff, lying on the couch watching football. Marie walked over to him and tapped his shoulder._

_"Jeff, I have something to tell you" she said._

_"Ok" Jeff said standing up. Marie took a deep breath._

_"I'm pregnant" she said softly._

_"You're what?"_

_"Pregnant, I am 3 ½ months pregnant."_

_"HOW COULD YOU LET THIS HAPPEN?" he yelled standing up._

_"I...I'm sorry"_

_"YOU SHOULD BE!!!" Jeff screamed as he punched her square in the stomach. Marie screamed._

_"No! Jeff, please not the baby, please!" She cried._

_"TOO FUCKING BAD!! IT'S YOUR FUCKING FAULT. YOU GOT PREGNANT!" he yelled pinning her against the wall. He repeatedly kicked and punched her in the stomach. Marie just sobbed knowing there was nothing she could do. Finally once Jeff was satisfied with the damage that had been done, her threw her against the wall._

_"NOW YOU STAY HERE, DON'T YOU DARE GO ANYWHERE OR TELL ANYONE ABOUT THIS! UNDERSTOOD?" Marie nodded._

_"GOOD!" he yelled before storming out of the apartment ._

_End Flashback_

Tears were cascading down her face as she finished explaining her story.

"It…it's m…my…fault" she sobbed.

"Marie it's not your fault, what are you talking about."

"The baby died Troy! And it's all my fault." She cried, sobbing into Troy's chest. Troy wrapped his arms around her body, holding her close she as she sobbed. He rubbed her back, trying to calm her.

"Shhh, it's not your fault" Troy soothed softly.

"Y…yes it is, I killed my own baby. I am such a horrible person" Marie sobbed.

"Who told you that?" Troy asked.

"Jeff, but he's right, it's my fault." Marie whimpered. Troy put his hand under Marie's chin, gently forcing her to look him straight in the eye.

"Marie, listen to me. It is not your fault what so ever. You did nothing wrong. Ok? Don't listen to anything Jeff says anymore. I want you to erase anything bad he has told you." Troy said sternly but gently. Marie nodded.

"Thank you Troy. How do you always know what to say?" Marie said quietly.

"I knew someone who always knew what to say, I guess I just learned from them" Troy explained. Marie smiled.

"Do you want to stay for dinner or do want to go home? It's your choice." Troy asked.

"I think you want to stay, so I think we'll stay, if that's ok with Taylor and Chad." Marie said softly.

"Are you sure?" Troy said.

"Yeah, they're your friends and you want to see them, so I'll stay." Marie replied.

"Ok, but I can see them any time I want so if you really don't want to stay we don't have to." Troy reasoned.

"No, we can stay" Marie insisted.

"Ok" Troy nodded. "Come on then" Troy said motioning for her to follow him into the kitchen. As soon as the pair entered the kitchen Marie immediately began apologizing,

"I'm really sorry I ran off like that, it just brought back bad memories"

"It's fine, please don't worry about it. Would you like something to drink?" Taylor said.

"A water would be nice please." Marie said politely.

"Sure, Troy?"

"Do you have orange juice?" Troy asked.

"Yup."

"No pulp right?"

"Yes Troy no pulp" Taylor sighed walking over to the fridge. Marie gave Troy a confused look,

"You don't like pulp?"

"Yeah, it's so….pulpy and icky and pulpy and yuck and eww and it ruins the juice." Troy said disgustedly.

"Basically he won't drink the juice if it has any pulp, even a minuscule amount" Chad clarified. Marie laughed.

"Wait so if the Queen of England presented you with pulpy orange juice you would send it back?" Marie questioned.

Troy froze, had she really just used those words,

_Flashback_

_The gang was sitting around the lunch table enjoying lunch. Troy sat down at the table and picked up his orange juice,_

_"No" he moaned._

_"What?" Gabriella asked._

_"It has pulp."_

_"Oh no, the world is ending" she said sarcastically. "Just drink it Troy, it's not going to kill you." Troy continued to look disgusted,_

_"I hate pulp, you couldn't pay me to drink it"_

_"Wait so if the Queen of England presented you with pulpy orange juice you would send it back?" Gabriella asked._

_"Yup" Troy said proudly moving his juice away from him._

_"You're kidding right?"_

_"No, Gabs, you're not going to get him to drink it." Chad interjected._

_"Yeah Gabi you could pay me enough money to drink that stuff" Troy agreed. Gabriella grinned._

_"Fine, then you're not getting any kisses until you drink a glass of it." Gabriella stated._

_"Fine" Troy said. "I can deal with not kissing you."_

_"Or touching"_

_"You're on" he challenged._

_"Ok" Gabriella grinned. "Everyone has to make sure he doesn't touch me or kiss me or anything ok?"_

_"Ok" came a chorus of voices._

_As the days passed Troy found it harder and harder not to touch her or hold her, but he was strong, he could do this._

_He walked into the lunchroom and sat down at their lunch table. His eyes immediately fell on Gabriella, who had tears running down her face. Taylor and Kelsi were sitting next to her trying to comfort her. Without thinking he got up and made his way around the table to where the girls were._

_"Baby, what's wrong?" he asked gently as he reached his hand out to try and touch her._

_"Ah ah ah, you can't do that Bolton" Hunter Carlton teased as he sat down next to Gabriella._

_"What do you fucking mean, I can't?" Troy demanded angrily._

_"You have a deal with her remember, no touching" Hunter said._

_"How the fuck do you know about that?" Troy demanded._

_"I have my ways." Hunter grinned evilly. "Now allow me" he said huskily, as he wrapped his arm around Gabriella. Troy practically exploded with anger,_

_"Orange juice NOW!!!!!!" Quickly, Jason handed Troy his pulpy orange juice and Troy downed it in a few seconds. Once he had finished he moved back around towards Gabriella._

_"Ok, NOW GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM HER!" Troy yelled angrily._

_"But I like it here, and I think she does too." Hunter sad seductively moving his hand up her thigh. Troy couldn't control himself, he punched Hunter square in the face, causing him to lose his balance and fall off of the chair on the floor._

_"Now STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM HER!" Troy yelled. Hunter quickly got up and stormed angrily out of the cafeteria. Troy turned his attention back to Gabriella._

_"Baby what's wrong, I'm here now. It's ok" Troy soothed, hugging her tightly. Gabriella turned and sobbed into his chest and Troy wrapped his arms tighter around her._

_"M…my mom was in a car a…accident, m…my aunt just texted me. Th…they won't let me leave school. I…I just want to know she's ok" she sobbed._

_"Shhh, baby she's going to be fine, I promise" Troy said softly. "Come on, let's go get my dad, he'll make sure you can get to the hospital." He helped her up and held her hand all the way to his dad's office._

_After Troy explained the situation to his father, Mr. Bolton found a way to let the pair leave._

_They quickly arrived at the hospital, only to find out that Mrs. Montez was perfectly fine, just a few scrapes and a broken arm. As the pair was sitting in the waiting from, waiting for the doctors to finished bandaging Mrs. Montez up Gabriella suddenly turned to Troy and said,_

_"You drank the orange juice."_

_"Yeah well I had to. I couldn't stand seeing you like that and not being able to hold you close." Troy confessed._

_"That's so sweet Troy. I love you so much"_

_"I love you too."_

_End Flashback_

He was in almost the same situation now, not being able to tell her just how much she meant to him.

"Troy" Marie said waving her hand in front of his face. "Hello are you still with us?"

"Yeah. Sorry I was just thinking. And to answer your question, yes I would turn the Queen of England's pulpy orange juice down." Troy said.

"Ok then" Marie said. Taylor smiled she knew exactly what Troy had been thinking about and to this day the only person who had ever been able to get Troy to drink pulpy orange juice was Gabriella.

**A/N: So, did you like that. I was ****kinda**** on the fence with it. Anyway I really wanted to watch the American Music Awards tonight, but they're on at 11 (and I have to get up at 6 for school tomorrow) so I'll just have to catch the important parts on YouTube another time. Anyway PLEASE review I really want to know what you think or if you have any suggestions!!!**


	11. It's All My Fault

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters.**

**A/N:**** HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!****So guess what???? I bet you all already know but HSM2 won best soundtrack at the American Music Awards!! ****Yay**** for them!!! Anyway t****hank you so very much to everyone who reviewed!!!!! They mean so much to me and I love getting them. Enjoy…**

_Last Time…_

_He was in almost the same situation now, not being able to tell her just how much she meant to him._

_"Troy" Marie said waving her hand in front of his face. "Hello __are__ you still with us?"_

_"Yeah.__ Sorry I was just thinking. And to answer your question, yes I would turn the Queen of England's pulpy orange juice down." Troy said._

_"Ok then" Marie said. Taylor smiled she knew exactly what Troy had been thinking about and to this day the only person who had ever been able to get Troy to drink pulpy orange juice was Gabriella._

**Chapter Ten**

It's All My Fault

Taylor, Chad, Chris, Troy and Marie had just finished eating dinner. Over the course of dinner Marie had loosened up a bit and Chris had taken to her.

"Mommy may I be scused from the table please?" Chris asked Taylor.

"But sweetie don't you want dessert?" Taylor reasoned.

"Ok, after dessert can I be scused?"

"Yes, after dessert you may be _excused_." Taylor said stressing the proper way to pronounce excused. "Chad, why don't you go get the dessert?" Chad nodded and got up from the table. A few moments later he reappeared with an apple pie.

"YAY! My favorite!" Chris exclaimed as everyone smiled. Taylor cut up the pie and served it to everyone. Chris managed to down his in record time.

"I'm finished!" Chris exclaimed with his mouth still full of food.

"Chris don't talk with your mouth full" Chad said ironically as his mouth was also full of food.

"Chad! Same goes for you!" Taylor scolded.

"Like father like son" Troy said causing Marie to giggle.

"Ok mommy I finished eating, now can I be scused from the table?" Chris asked.

"Yes you may" Taylor replied calmly. Chris jumped down from his chair was ran over to Marie, whispering something in her ear. She smiled and nodded.

"Taylor, that was absolutely delicious, thank you so much. However your son is very anxious to go outside and play basketball with me, so may I also be excused?" Marie asked softly.

"Of course" Taylor said kindly. Marie stood up slowly,

"Let me just take the dishes in then I'll be right out. Ok Chris?" she said as she began collecting dishes.

"No Marie, you go on out, we'll get these" Taylor insisted.

"No please Taylor let me just take these in, it will only take a moment." Marie insisted. Taylor sighed knowing she wasn't going to win this war.

"Thank you" Taylor said gratefully. Marie smiled, she was going to get used to people thanking her.

"No, thank you" she replied softly as she gathered up the last dishes and brought them into the kitchen.

Once she had left the room, Troy sat back in his chair and sighed, Chad still had a look of disbelief on his face and Taylor also quietly sighed. All at once they all said softly,

"Wow" once the three realized they had said the exact same word they looked at each other for clarification.

"I can't believe how much of Gabi is still there and yet there is still so much missing." Taylor spoke softly. "She uses the same phrases and hand motions but she is still so reserved, so grateful for everything."

"I know, Jeff's taken so much from her, too much. It hurts me to think of all the pain that bastard has caused her." Troy said "He took away all of her confidence, her spirits, her baby, he abused her so badly while she was pregnant he killed the baby!"

Taylor covered her mouth with her hand in shock,

"I couldn't imagine losing a child, even an unborn one."

"And what's worse she blames herself for it." Troy said.

"But why?"

"Because Jeff said it was her fault, he made her believe it was her fault."

"That's not fair" Taylor said quietly.

"Nothing she's been through is fair" Troy pointed out. Taylor nodded.

"Chad are you alright? You've been awfully quiet." Taylor observed.

"I just can't believe Chris wanted to play basketball with her instead of me" Chad said.

"Oh Chad! For heaven's sake how can you say that, this, this is good for her." Taylor scolded.

"I was only joking; I just couldn't believe all this is really happening to Gabi." Chad said seriously.

"I can't either" Troy said.

"Now, come on, let's go do the dishes" Taylor said. Troy and Chad groaned. However as soon as Taylor sent them death glares they eased up.

"Ok fine we're coming, gosh, chill" Chad spoke, as the pair followed her into the kitchen.

Taylor washed the dishes as Troy dried them and the Chad put them away.

Troy was mindlessly drying the dishes as he watched Marie through the window as she played basketball with Chris. Taylor watched him as he continued drying the same dish for 5 minutes.

"Troy, hello, are you still there?" Taylor asked, waving her hand in front of Troy's face. Troy just continued staring out the window. Taylor looked at Chad and Chad said,

"Good god, I haven't seen him look at someone like that since high school"

"Yeah well that's because the person he is looking at is the only person that ever made him look at someone that way." Taylor pointed out. Chad nodded in agreement.

"Troy, dude! Hello!" Chad said trying to snap him out of the trance. Still nothing.

"Troy, look! Ms. Darbus is playing basketball!" Chad exclaimed. Still nothing.

"How come that worked when Gabriella used to do it?" Chad huffed.

"Because that was when we were in High School, and Ms. Darbus was actually around!" Taylor said.

"Look at her, she always wanted to be a mother or work with kids." Troy spoke suddenly. "I always knew she would make an amazing teacher and an even better mother."

"I know, Troy. She always said that all she wanted in life was to be a mother and to be with you forever." Taylor said softly as she too watched the way Marie interacted with Chris. Troy turned to look at Taylor,

"That's all I ever wanted too. To have by my side always and forever." Troy said softly.

"And now you're getting that chance Troy. She's here, she's in the flesh. Gabriella still in there somewhere, she's just waiting to find a way out." Taylor said. Troy nodded,

"I know, I'm just afraid of losing her again. I don't think I could take that"

"She'll come around Troy, just give her time" Taylor said.

Suddenly the adults heard an ear piercing scream, they all turned around and looked out the window only to see Jeff grabbing Chris.

"Taylor, call the police! Chad come on!" Troy yelled before he ran out the door.

**With Marie and Chris just as Troy turned around to talk to Taylor****…**

Chris threw the ball towards the basket and it went straight in.

"Yay!! I win!" Chris exclaimed.

"You did! Good job!" Marie exclaimed happily, picking up Chris and twirling him around. Chris giggled, however suddenly he abruptly stopped.

"What's wrong?" she asked him.

"Who's dat?" Marie set Chris down and turned around, coming face to face with Jeff. Her face paled quickly.

"J…Jeff w…what aa…are you doing here?" Marie stuttered.

"I'm here to reclaim what's mine!" Jeff said loudly.

"H…how d..did you find me?"

"I have my ways!" Jeff said evilly. "Now come you bitch, you're coming with me!" Jeff grabbed her wrists pulling her towards him.

"No" Marie said softly.

"EXCUSE ME!"

"N..no. Jeff you can't just take me away"

"I CAN AND I WILL. YOU DISOBEYED ME YOU WORTHLESS SLUT! I TOLD YOU NOT TO FUCKING TELL ANYONE AND YOU DID!" Jeff yelled punching her stomach.

"I…I didn't tell Troy anything." Marie said.

"WELL HE FUCKING FOUND OUT!" Jeff hollered throwing Marie on the hard cement ground.

"Marie!" Chris yelled, moving towards her to make sure she was ok.

"No, Chris, please don't come here. Please." She begged him afraid Jeff would hurt Chris.

"Ahh what do we have here?" Jeff said evilly.

"You're being a meanie" Chris said boldly.

"Am I? WELL GUESS WHAT? I CAN BE EVEN MEANER!" Jeff yelled picking Chris up harshly. Marie screamed.

"Put him down! Please don't hurt him!" Marie begged tearfully as she got up slowly.

"WHY SHOULD I?" Jeff yelled.

"Because I told you to stay away from her!" Troy yelled.

"BOLTON!" Jeff spat.

"Put him down!" Chad demanded.

"Ok" Jeff smiled evilly before he threw Chris on the ground just as he had with Marie.

"ASS HOLE!" Chad yelled, before he ran over to his son. Jeff moved over towards Marie and grabbed her wrists.

"YOU'RE COMING WITH ME! NOW MOVE BITCH!" Jeff yelled pushing Marie hard. Marie winced in pain.

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF HER!" Troy yelled.

"MAKE ME!" Jeff yelled back.

"FINE!" Troy lunged towards Jeff punching him square in the face. Jeff released Marie as he lost his footing and she fell to the ground. Jeff threw a punch at Troy's face but he missed and punched Troy's stomach instead. Troy took a moment to catch his breath and then threw another hard punch into Jeff's stomach.

Just then sirens could be heard.

"YOU LITTLE BITCH! YOU CALLED THE POLICE!" Jeff yelled at Marie, forgetting Troy and moving towards Marie. Before Troy could stop him, Jeff kicked Marie hard in the abdomen.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU? CAN'T YOU JUST LEAVE HER ALONE! SHE'S DONE NOTHING TO YOU!" Troy yelled angrily.

"Everyone freeze!" the police officer yelled. "Which one of you if Jeff?"

Troy and Chad pointed at Jeff. The officers rushed over to Jeff and handcuffed him.

"Mr. Sander you are under arrest for the assault of Ms. Garcia. You have the right to remain silent as anything you say will be used against you in court." The police officer said sternly leading Jeff over to the police car.

Troy rushed over to Marie, who was sobbing. He gently rubbed her arm trying to calm her down.

"Where's Chris? I…is he ok, please tell me he's ok" Marie said suddenly.

"He's fine, calm down it's ok." Troy said gently.

"It's my fault, he's hurt, it's my fault" Marie said.

"It's not your fault, you didn't hurt Chris, Jeff did. You did nothing wrong. Come let's go inside." Troy said softly. Marie just nodded.

They entered the kitchen and Marie immediately burst into tears. Chris was sitting on the kitchen table, as Taylor cleaned up the few cuts he had gotten after Jeff threw him on the ground.

"I…I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry" Marie kept repeating.

"Marie you have nothing to be sorry about" Troy assured her.

"No, it's my fault, everything is my fault, it's my fault." Marie said. Troy turned her around so that she was facing him.

"Marie, please listen to me, you did absolutely nothing wrong. None of this is your fault. OK?" Troy said firmly. Marie nodded.

"Now, are you ok? Where does it hurt?" Troy asked.

"I'm fine" Marie assured him. "What about you are you ok?"

"Don't worry about me, I'm fine. It's you I'm concerned about." Troy said trying to look at the cuts that had appeared on the arms, but she covered them with her other hand.

"It's nothing." Marie said softly.

"Let me just clean them and put some bandages on them" Troy said softly.

"Ok" Marie said.

Troy got a damp cloth and gently began rubbing the damp cloth over the cuts, cleaning out the dirt. He dried it and wrapped a bandage around it.

"It that too tight?" he asked.

"No, it's fine. Thank you" Marie replied quietly. Just then Chris came running over and hugged Marie tightly.

"Are you ok?" he asked.

"I'm fine, are you ok?" she asked him softly.

"Yeah. I'm fine. Was that your friend who was mean to you?" Chris asked.

Marie nodded.

"Yes Chris, that was her friend who was mean to her. But he's not really her friend anymore." Troy said.

"Good, cause he was a meanie to everyone." Chris said.

"Exactly." Troy said.

"I'm sorry he hurt you Chris" Marie said.

"It's not your fault, you shouldn't be saying sorry, he should" Chris said. Marie felt tears in her eyes, but refused to let them fall.

"Thank you for saying that" Marie said hugging Chris tightly.

"You're welcome" Chris said before he let out a long yawn.

"I think someone is tired." Taylor said. "It's time for someone to go to sleep."

"And I think we better head home too" Troy said.

"Ok Chris say goodbye to Uncle Troy and Marie." Taylor said.

"Bye bye Uncle Troy" Chris said hugging Troy.

"Bye, little man. Good night"

"Bye bye Marie" Chris said hugging Marie.

"Good night Chris. Thank you for letting me play with you" She said sweetly.

"It was fun" Chris smiled.

"It was" Marie replied.

"Bye guys" Taylor said. "Thanks for coming over. Come again, any time."

"Thank you for having me. I'm sorry I caused so much trouble." Marie said.

"You didn't do anything wrong, please, it was so nice to have you" Taylor assured her.

"Thank you" Marie said.

"Bye Taylor, don't worry we'll stop by soon" Troy said.

"Bye Chad" Marie said.

"See ya soon" Chad said.

"Bye man" Troy said.

"See ya dude." Chad said. Troy and Marie walked out to the car as Chad shut the door behind them.

Just a few minutes into the drive home Marie fell asleep. Once Troy pulled up outside his apartment, he carried Marie bridal style into the apartment. He gently put her down on the bed, not wanting to wake her. He moved the covers over her, so she wouldn't be cold in the night. Before he left her to sleep in peace he kissed her forehead gently and whispered,

"I love you"

**A/N: So…what did you think? Was it any good? You know I thought about splitting it so there was a cliffy but then I felt like being nice! Please review with any suggestions, comments, questions, concerns, anything! **


	12. Class, Practice and Memories

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters.**

**A/N: ****OMG I am so sorry for the delayed update. I've been working on the chapter little by little all week, ****then**** on Friday I was going to finish it, but then just my luck my Microsoft Office trial ran out. So, I had to wait until my dad aka the computer whiz got home, which just my luck again happened to be on Saturday. But then on Saturday night, the time I was going to finish the chapter****, mom told**** me****"****oh by the way you're babysitting tonight.****" I was like oh great. So that's**** why I'm updating today. Anyway before I start, I have one thing to say, IT'S SNOWING!!! – ****well**** it's not snowing anymore but there's snow on the ground!!!! ****Thanks so much for all the review****s****! Enjoy…**

_Last Time…_

_Just a few minutes into the drive home Marie fell asleep. Once Troy pulled up outside his apartment, he carried Marie bridal style into the apartment. He gently put her down on the bed, not wanting to wake her. He moved the covers over her, so she wouldn't be cold in the night. Before he left her to sleep in peace he kissed her forehead gently and whispered,_

_"I love you" _

**Chapter Eleven**

Class, Practice and Memories

The next morning Troy had to get up early so he could get ready for school. East Elementary started at 8:30 but he always got there at 7:45, so he had to leave at 7:30 which meant he had to get up at 6:15, so he could take a shower.

After his hot, relaxing shower Troy wandered into his kitchen, lazily. He always gave himself way too much time to get ready, that way he could take a long shower or eat his breakfast slowly. He was eating his cereal when Marie came walking into the room, dressed for her waitressing job.

"Good morning" she said softly.

"Good morning. Did you sleep well?" Troy asked.

"Yes thank you. Did you?"

"I slept wonderfully. But um, quick question, why are you wearing that?"he asked.

"I…I have to go to work" she answered quietly.

"No you don't" Troy retaliated.

"Troy, I have a job there I can just not go" Marie said.

"You can for a few days. I know the manager, he says you can have off as long as you like, because you deserve it. He says you work way too hard." Troy explained.

"I…I don't deserve anything, I don't work hard" Marie said.

"Marie you work harder than anyone I know, of course you deserve a break, everyone needs a break." Troy said softly.

"Yeah, but only important people need breaks" Marie said.

"You're important"

Marie shook her head.

"Why don't you think you're important?" Troy asked.

"Because I'm a useless slut" Marie said as her eyes became watery and tears leaked out of her eyes. Anger boiled inside of Troy – why had Jeff treated her so badly? He moved close to her and gently wiped her tears with his thumbs, then he said softly, but sternly,

"Please don't ever say you're a useless slut because you are the furthest thing from it. It hurts me to hear you think so low of yourself." Marie looked away for a brief moment but then looked back up at him,

"Why do you care about me so much?" Marie asked softly.

"You mean a lot to me" Troy said simply. "I've never met anyone so kind, so gentle, so warm." Suddenly Marie wrapped her arms around Troy's neck and hugged him tightly. Troy was slightly shocked at first but then he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her back. It had been so long since he had held her in his arms, and it felt great. The warmth of her body was still there and they still fit together perfectly. Slowly, Marie pulled away from the hug,

"Thank you Troy, you really are amazing, you know that." Marie said softly. Troy smiled, hearing her say that made him feel so happy. Sure he'd heard he was an amazing teacher from parents or amazing at basketball, but to hear it from her, the woman he loved more than life itself brought him joy that was indescribable.

"So, I was thinking instead of you going to work, you could come with me to work" Troy said hopefully. Marie smiled.

"That sounds like fun. I'll just go and change quickly." Marie said happily, before turning back and walking into her room.

A few minutes later she returned, wearing dark wash jeans, black ballet flats, a dark purple with little cream flowers tank top and a cream wrap cardigan over it. Troy smiled, she looked so beautiful.

"You ready to go?" he asked.

"Yeah"

10 minutes later the pair arrived at school. Troy led her into the building and to his classroom. As they entered the classroom, Troy suddenly remembered the picture that was sitting on his desk,

_"Shit, I can't let her see that, she'll recognize herself." Troy thought._

"You can go look around the classroom, I'm just going to work on some stuff at my desk" Troy said. Marie nodded and looked up and the back wall, where all the stories and drawings were hanging.

Troy walked briskly over to his desk and gently moved the photo into one of his draws.

"Troy, this drawing is fantastic. Did a second grader really draw this?" Marie asked suddenly.

"Yeah, she's an amazing artist, Julia, she surprises me every day with her abilities." Troy answered as he began walking towards Marie.

"Ah but it's the teacher who inspires the student." Marie said softly. Troy smiled down at her, he was right next to her.

"You're right" he replied. Marie turned to face him, she looked up at him smiling.

"It's just the truth" she replied simply. Troy smiled again, he had the incredible desire to kiss her, he needed to feel her lips on his again, he missed them so much. Suddenly the door opened ending the war Troy had been fighting inside of himself whether or not to kiss her.

"Speaking of Julia, here she is" Troy said. Julia flashed Troy a confused look.

"Hi" Julia said timidly.

"Julia I was just telling my friend Marie about your wonderful drawings. Would you like to tell her more?" Troy asked as he watched Julia's face light up.

"Yeah I'd love to!" Julia exclaimed, running over to where Marie was standing.

"So, this one is of two fairies who are best friends. The one is pink is more outgoing and the one in purple is quieter and more shy, but I think they make a good pair. It goes along with the story next to it." Julia said proudly pointing to the drawing.

"Wow, they're so beautiful and you're right I think they look like they do. I read the story also, it is so great" Marie said kindly.

"Thank you" Julia answered. "Do you want me to show you my sketch book, it has more drawings in it?" She asked hopefully.

"I would love to" Marie said warmly. Julia smiled widely as she led Marie over to her desk.

Troy watched as the two of them interacted. Marie was so amazing with Julia, but then again, it wasn't much of a shock, Gabriella had always loved children.

Soon the classroom was full of kids laughing and talking. The announcements came on over the intercom, signaling the beginning of the day and the room became silent as the kids listened to the principal speak.

"…thank you for listening have a wonderful, fun filled day of learning." The principal finished off.

"Good morning everyone" Troy greeted his students.

"Good morning Mr. Bolton" the class chimed.

"So, everyone, today we are very lucky to have my friend Marie here today" Troy said. "So everyone say hello to Marie."

"Hello Marie" the class chorused.

"Hello, thank you so much for having me in your class. I was looking at your work on the walls and you guys are all really creative." Marie said kindly. The class beamed in pride.

"See I told you, you guys were lucky" Troy said. The class laughed. Max's hand shot in the air.

"Yes Max?"

"How long is Marie staying?"

"I'm not sure" Troy said simply. "Now, before we get too off track, let's get started."

* * *

"Ok guys, I'll see you tomorrow! Have a good, rest of the day!" Troy said to his class as they began filing out of his classroom. 

"Bye guys!" Marie piped up as she too watched the class file out.

"Bye!" came a chorus of voices.

After all the students had left the classroom, Marie turned to Troy and said,

"You are a great teacher."

"Thank you" Troy said appreciatively.

"You're welcome, but you deserve it, those kids practically worship you" Troy laughed at Marie's comment.

"Yeah, well what can I say" Troy joked. "Come on, we've got to go to practice now" he continued seriously.

"Huh?"

"I coach the basketball team at the high school. And practice starts in…10 minutes. So we've got to get a move on" Troy explained.

"Oh yeah, you told me that" Marie recalled following Troy out of the classroom, headed towards his car.

7 minutes later Troy and Marie pulled up at East High. The pair got out of the car and Troy led her into the building.

**Marie's POV**

As we walked into the building, I couldn't help but feel like I'd been here before. The halls seemed so familiar, but there was no way I could have been here.

_"Your summer activities consultant has arrived."_

I heard the voice coming from what seemed like behind me, but when I turned around there was no one there, just Troy standing next to me.

"You ok?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine" I answered. I could have sworn I heard someone say that, but maybe I'm just going insane. I shook it off and continued walking down the halls.

**Regular POV**

Finally the pair arrived at the gym. Troy opened the double doors and the pair entered. The team was already running around the gym and shooting hoops. Troy coughed to acknowledge his presence. The team stopped everything and turned to face their coach. However their faces turned to complete shock as they saw the woman who was standing next to Troy.

"Good afternoon boys. This is my friend Marie, she's going to be staying to watch today." Troy said. "OK, so let's get started. I want 10 laps around the gym to begin. Go!"

The boys began immediately running around the gym, not daring to question why their coach had been allowed to bring someone to practice when everyone knew that they were never allowed to bring anyone to the practices. Troy turned to Marie and said,

"You can go sit on the bleachers, while we practice."

"Ok" Marie replied before walking over to the bleachers and taking a seat.

* * *

An hour later Troy blew his whistle. 

"Great job today boys! Shower up!" The basketball team started walking towards the locker room, as Troy walked over to Marie,

"I just have to go into the locker room for a few minutes; I'll be out in a sec. Ok?" Troy said.

"Ok, I'll just wait in here" Troy smiled and walked towards the locker room. Upon entry into the locker room he found 12 pairs of eyes staring at him questioningly.

"What's up guys?" Troy asked.

"What was that coach?" Brandon, the captain asked.

"What was what?" Troy asked.

"Come on coach, who was that really?" Brandon asked again as the team nodded in agreement.

"I told you that's my friend, Marie" Troy said as the guys eyed him suspiciously. Troy and team were close, Troy knew a lot about their personal lives, about their girlfriends or which girls they liked, but he did have one golden rule, no girls in the gym while they were practicing, it was way too distracting. The team was all wondering the same thing – why was he suddenly allowed a girl in the gym?

"We were just wondering why you are allowed a girl in the gym, while we were practicing. I mean you seemed to keep glancing at her. If I didn't know any better I would say you were just a little distracted and it seemed like you too are just a little more than friends" Brandon explained.

"Mmmhmm" the team agreed. Troy let out a long sigh.

"Guys it's complicated" Troy said finally.

"We're smart"

"Fine, have you ever heard of Gabriella Montez?" Troy asked his team.

"Yeah, everyone at East High has heard of her, she was your girlfriend. You guys were like the couple of the century and then one day she suddenly disappeared. It's legend."

"That was her" Troy confessed.

"But you introduced her as Marie."

"I know, I know that's because she thinks her name is Marie. Sometime between the time she disappeared and now she's lost her memory or something, but all I know is that is Gabriella Montez sitting out there"

"That's great coach, but that still doesn't answer the question" Brandon pointed out.

"Guys, Marie has been through a lot, her fiancé abused her. I didn't want to leave her all alone at home, even though her fiancé has been sent to jail." Troy explained. "As for the no girls allowed in the gym while we're practicing rule, that applies unless you have a damn good reason why they need to be the gym with you."

"And a damn good reason would be?"

"I'll tell you a story" Troy said taking a deep breath.

_Flashback_

_"Come on! __Move!"__ Coach Bolton yelled. _

_Troy ran faster down the court as his team mates passed him the ball and he passed the ball to his team mates. __Chad passed him the ball and Troy shot the ball from the 3 point line –of course, it went straight in. Troy brought his hands together for a single clap as he always did after scoring. As he turned around to chase the ball down the court again, a certain brunette caught his attention. He stopped dead in his tracks, when he looked at her face properly. Instead of its usual glow with her bright smile dancing across it, her face was pale, her eyes were red and Troy could tell she'd been crying and now she was fighting back the tears. __Troy ran towards her not caring it was the middle of practice. _

_"Baby, what's wrong?" he asked gently, running his hands up her arms. _

_"I….I…Troy we…need to talk" Gabriella said softly._

_"What's wrong?" Troy asked again. Gabriella's hurt filled eyes made contact with his and then she looked down._

_"I…I think we should break up" she said quietly, tears beginning to stream down her face. _

_"But why?"_

_"Because, we have to" she said softly. Unconvinced Troy put two fingers under her chin and lifted it up so that she was looked right at him._

_"Tell me you don't love me and I'll walk away, but I love you more than anyone in this world, so unless you tell me you're not in love me, I don't ever want to be away from you" Troy said gently._

_"Troy, I love you more than anything in the world__" Gabriella__ began tears leaking out of her eyes. "__but__ we can't be together"_

_"Why not Gabi?"__ Troy asked softly._

_"__because__ they're going to hurt you!" Gabriella cried before she__ broke down sobbing and shaking. Her knees gave out and thankfully Troy was there to catch her before she fell to the ground. _

_"__Shhh__…Gabi, __it's__ ok…__shhh__" Troy soothed. He picked her up and carried her over to the bleachers. Slowly, he sat down with Gabriella sitting in his lap, still sobbing into his chest. _

_After a few minutes Gabriella calmed down._

_"I'm sorry" she said softly._

_"__Shhh__…you have nothing to be sorry about__." He soothed. "But Gabi, I need you to tell me who told you to break up with me"_

_"It was Brian, he said that if I didn't break up with you, he would hurt you" Gabriella said softly as more tears leaked out of her eyes. "I…I didn't want anything to happen to you."_

_"Hey… nothing is going to happen to me, I promise. Brian is never going to get anywhere near me or you. Ok?" Troy said softly. Gabriella nodded. _

_"But Gabi, I need you to promise me that if he ever hurts you or does anything to make you feel unsafe, you'll come get and me or call me, no matter what time it is, or where I am. I don't care" _

_"OK" Gabriella replied. _

_"Good, now why don't you stay here until pr__actice is over" Troy said gently. Gabriella nodded. Troy kissed her on the forehead and whispered,_

_"I love you" before dashing back onto the court._

_End Flashback_

"That would considered a good reason." Troy said.

"What did you do to Brian?" Lucas (a member of the team) asked.

"That's another story" Troy said. "But in all seriousness, if that ever happens to anyone you care about, even if she's not your girlfriend, she can stay for practice." The team nodded.

"And I want to make myself very clear, if I EVER find out you've been harassing a girl, you're off the team. Are we understood?"

"Yes coach" the team replied strongly.

"Good, now you guys go shower, I have some paperwork to get quickly. I'll see you guys tomorrow."

"Bye coach!"

* * *

Marie watched as Troy walked into the locker room. She had this odd feeling she'd been here before, but she couldn't put her finger on it. She looked around the gym and she could almost hear cheering, like a team had just won a game. Was she going crazy? She closed her eyes to try and shake the thought, then suddenly a memory came to her. 

_Flashback_

_She was in a very noisy __gym__ wearing a red dress__. Her team had just won and she was ecstatic. She ran up behind a basketball player and wrapped__ her arms around him__, placing her hands on his chest._

_"Congratulations wildcat!" she greeted the player happily._

_The player turned around…_

_End Flashback_

"You ready to go?" Troy asked coming out of the locker room.

"Yeah" Marie said softly. "The team is really good" Marie said trying to shake her mind of the flashback she just had.

"Thank you. They're the second best team East High has ever seen." Troy said proudly.

"And the first would be?"

"Ahhh, East High had the best team, when I went here."

"You went to school here?"

"Yeah, I've lived in Albuquerque all my life." Troy said proudly.

"Really? So I take it you played basketball"

"But of course" Troy said.

"I bet you were good." Marie said.

"I guess you could say that."

"Can I ask you something?" Marie asked.

"Yeah"

"You seem to really like basketball, and if you were really good, and you were on the best team East High had ever seen, you probably had scholarships lined up for you. Why didn't you take them?" Marie asked. Troy took a deep breath,

"Something happened during my senior year that changed me in so many ways. Basketball was no longer important. I guess I just wanted to do other things" Troy explained.

"That's understandable" Marie said, not wanting to further the topic.

The pair walked outside. It had gotten considerably colder since they had entered the school.

"You want to go get some coffee?" Troy asked.

"I'd love to." Marie said softly.

"Good because my friend owns the best bakery/coffee shop in all of Albuquerque" Troy said.

**A/N: Ok I've got to stop now, sorry, but I didn't expect it to be so long. The next chapter will be at the bakery/coffee shop. Any guesses as to who owns it. I bet you can all guess it's pretty obvious! So, I hoped you like that chapter, I know it was a bit boring, but there were some ****troyella**** moments! And Marie got a few memories!! Please review!!!!**


	13. Sparkle and Shine Bakery

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters.**

**A/N: Thanks so much for all the reviews!! Everyone who guessed who owned the shop was right!! Good job guys!!!**** Enjoy…**

_Last Time…_

_The pair walked outside. It had gotten considerably colder since they had entered the school._

_"You want to go get some coffee?" Troy asked. _

_"I'd love to." Marie said softly. _

_"Good because my friend owns the best bakery/coffee shop in all of Albuquerque" Troy said._

**Chapter Twelve**

Sparkle and Shine Bakery

"Sparkle and Shine Bakery?" Marie questioned.

"Yeah, you'll understand once you meet Sharpay" Troy explained "She's the owner's wife."

"Oh" Marie said as she got out of the car. Troy took a deep breath,

_"Ok this could either be really good or it could crash and burn__, please let this work" __Troy prayed to himself._

Troy led Marie into the bakery.

"Mmmm, it smells so amazing in here" she commented. Troy smiled, Gabriella always used to love the smell of Zeke's baking.

The pair walked up to the register and Troy dinged the small bell near the cash register, while Marie looked at all the baked goods for sale.

"Good afternoon, welcome to – Troy! Hey! I haven't seen you in such a long time. How are you?" Zeke greeted warmly.

"I'm fine thank you. I've been busy lately, but I've brought a friend of mine her. She's new in town and I thought I'd show her the best bakery in Albuquerque." Troy said as he motioned to Marie, who was gazing at the treats. Zeke's mouth dropped open as he recognized the brunette. Troy shook his head and Zeke looked even more confused just as Marie looked up.

"Marie, this is Zeke, he went to high school with me and Zeke this is Marie." Troy introduced. Marie smiled and held out her hand,

"It's really nice to meet you. Everything here looks so amazing, I don't know how I am going to choose." Zeke shook Marie's hand as she spoke and then said,

"Thank you, choose anything, it's on me"

"Are you sure?"

"Positive"

"Thank you so much." Marie smiled. Suddenly a little blonde girl came running through the door.

"Daddy!" Zeke moved around the counter to hug his daughter.

"Cupcake! Did you have fun at Maddie's house?" he asked.

"Yeah we played dollies and horsies and school and more dollies and it was really really fun!" the little girl exclaimed.

"That sounds like fun. Where's mommy?" Zeke said.

"Oh she's getting stuff from the car." She answered.

"Oh I better go help her" Zeke said.

"No, Zeke I'll help Sharpay, you stay here with your daughter." Troy offered giving him a I-have-to-warn-her look. Zeke took the hint and nodded.

"Ok"

"Here I'll come help too" Marie offered. Troy mentally screamed, why did she have to be so helpful?

"No, no Marie you stay inside, I've got it" Troy said.

"Are you sure?" Marie asked.

"Yes" Troy assured her.

"Ok"

"I'll be right back" Troy said before he walked out of the bakery. There was a brief moment of silence because no one knew what to say, but then,

"Who are you?" the little girl asked.

"My name's Marie, I'm a friend of Troy's. What's your name?" Marie said softly.

"My name is Sarina Baylor. You know what?"

"What?"

"You're the first friend of Uncle Troy's I've met who's a girl" Sarina said proudly. Marie just smiled.

"Ok, why don't we get some treats" Zeke said interrupting before Sarina said anymore.

"Ok!" Sarina exclaimed. "Can I have a cupcake with pink icing and rainbow sprinkles?"

"Yes of course. Marie?"

"Um, c…could I have an Ella Éclair please." Marie asked softly she was still uncomfortable around men, especially when Troy wasn't around. Zeke paused, éclairs were Gabriella's favorite, hence the name Ella Éclair. Sensing the pause Marie immediately corrected herself,

"I…I mean if you want me to have something else, I will. I'm sorry if that was the wrong thing…I could have something else…or no, maybe I shouldn't have anything. It's unfair of me to expect that from you, I just met you. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to seem ungrateful" Marie rambled.

"Whoa, it's ok, no no don't worry. That's fine. I was distracted. Please don't worry about it. Of course you can have one. I'll go get it for you" Zeke assured her.

"Ok, thank you so much Zeke." Marie said gratefully.

"You're very welcome." Zeke answered.

* * *

Troy exited the bakery and found Sharpay unloading groceries out of the back of her car. 

"Hey" Troy greeted.

"Troy! Hey! Oh my god I haven't seen you in forever!" Sharpay exclaimed excitedly. "Where have you been?"

"It's nice to see you too." Troy joked which earned him a playful slap,

"No seriously, I was worried. Where were you?"

"Ok Shar, but you have to promise not to flip" Troy said seriously.

"Ok I won't flip."

"Gabriella Montez is alive." Troy said simply.

"WHAT?" Sharpay screamed. "Where is she?"

"Sharpay, I told you not to flip out."

"Sorry but for god's sake you just told me one of my best friends is alive"

"Sharpay there's more." Troy said. "She doesn't know her name is really Gabriella. She doesn't remember anything about us"

"What happened?" Sharpay asked softly.

"I'm not exactly sure, but I'll tell you what I know later when I explain it to Zeke too." Troy said.

"Didn't Zeke freak out?" Sharpay asked.

"No, because I knew that he wouldn't scream when he saw her."

"Well shouldn't we try and get her to remember?" Sharpay pointed out.

"It's complicated, I'll explain more later, but I really think we should get inside, or they'll get suspicious as to what is taking so long" Troy said.

"Right, good thinking. Now can you carry some of these for me?" Sharpay asked.

"But of course" Troy said picking up some of the bags.

The pair walked inside and Troy smiled when he saw Marie smiling, talking and eating her éclair with Sarina. Troy heard Sharpay gasp. He looked back and shot her death glares. Troy sat down the grocery bags and walked over to where Marie and Sarina were sitting.

"Marie, this is my friend Sharpay, she's Zeke's wife. Sharpay this is Marie" Troy introduced.

"It's nice to meet you. You have such a wonderful daughter" Marie said politely.

"Thank you" Sharpay answered kindly. Marie quickly noticed that there were only two seats at the table she was sitting at and both of them were filled. She got up and said,

"You guys should sit down, I'll stand."

"No, no you sit Marie" Troy persuaded.

"Are you sure? Sharpay, do you want to sit?" Marie asked

"Why don't we just move to a table with more chairs? That way we can all fit." Sharpay offered.

"That's a good idea" Marie said. She picked up her éclair and the 3 adults and Sarina walked over to a bigger table with 6 chairs.

The three adults chatted while Sarina colored, after a while Zeke came over with some coffee and joined in the conversation.

"Sharpay, where's the bathroom?" Marie asked.

"Oh it's just down the hall." Sharpay pointed.

"Thanks" Marie answered as she got up and began walking down the hall. Sharpay watched as she walked towards the bathroom and as soon as she was out of sight she turned to Troy,

"Ok spill" she ordered.

"Whoa Shar chill. Let him tell us when he wants to" Zeke said.

"Thank you Zeke but I guess now is as good a time as ever" Troy said.

"You think" Sharpay said impatiently.

"Ok, ok calm down." Troy said. "A few months ago I was at The Red Oak Diner with Chad and Taylor and Marie was our waitress. I knew it was Gabriella from the moment I saw her, but she didn't remember us. So then the next day I went back and she was there so we had lunch and talked. We ended up doing that a lot for a while. Then I met her fiancé -"

"FIANCE!" Sharpay exclaimed.

"Yes, her fiancé and I didn't like him from the moment I met him. Anyway by this time I noticed she was very thankful for everything, she always put herself down and I started noticing bruises on her arms. So one night I was at Chad and Taylor's house and it suddenly came to me. So I raced to her apartment and sure enough I was right. Her fiancé abused her. I took her home with me and well here we are." Troy explained.

"Poor Gabi" Sharpay said sadly.

"That explains why she got so worried when I didn't respond immediately when she told me what she wanted." Zeke said.

"Yeah, you have to understand that her fiancé, Jeff would beat her if she did anything wrong, or she did something without his permission." Troy explained. "She just needs to learn to trust people." Sharpay and Zeke nodded in agreement. Just then they heard someone cry out,

"P..please no…it wasn't my fault."

Troy immediately got up from the table and raced towards the bathroom. Marie was backed up against the wall.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Troy yelled. The man turned around and anger boiled inside of Troy. The man let Marie fall to the ground.

"Well, well well if it isn't Mr. Troy Bolton"

"What do you want Larson?" Troy spat angrily.

"Nothing." Brian Larson, the old football captain said innocently.

"You stay away from her!"

"I told you I would make your life miserable" he said before pushed past Troy. Resisting the urge to punch him Troy rushed over to Marie.

"Are you ok?" he asked concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She said softly.

"Marie, what's wrong?" Troy asked.

"I'm scared" Marie said softly.

"Marie, I promise I won't let Brian hurt you." Troy said.

"He's angry though, he says it's my fault his cousin is in jail."

"How do you know his cousin?" Troy asked.

"Jeff is his cousin. How did you know him?" she asked.

"He went to high school with me. I hate his guts, but I promise he's not getting anywhere near you again." Troy said. "Come on, let's go home." Troy helped Marie up and the pair walked back towards the entrance.

"Bye guys. We'll stop by again soon" Troy said.

"Bye, thank you again for the éclair and the coffee." Marie said.

"You're very welcome, come back anytime." Zeke said.

"I will" Marie said.

"Bye!" Sharpay called.

"Bye bye" Sarina called too.

Troy waved one final time before the pair exited the building. Marie shivered as the cold air hit her body. Noticing this Troy took off his jacket and held it out in his hand,

"Here, you're cold, take this." Troy offered.

"No, I…I couldn't"

"Please Marie."

"Thank you" Marie said giving in. Troy smiled and wrapped it around Marie's shoulders.

After a 10 minute drive Troy and Marie arrived back at Troy's apartment.

It was late so Marie and Troy decided they wanted to go straight to bed.

"Good night Troy." Marie said

"Good night Marie. Are you going to come to work with me again tomorrow?" Troy asked.

"If that's ok with you" Marie said.

"It's fine with me" Troy assured her.

"Ok then I'll come." Marie smiled.

"Good" Troy said.

Without warning Marie went up on her tippy toes and kissed Troy lightly on the lips.

"Thank you for everything" she said softly before disappearing around her bedroom door.

Troy stood there, unable to move. She had just kissed him, right? It hadn't been a dream? No, it had been a real kiss, short, but it was still a kiss. He smiled and walked towards his bedroom.

**A/N: FINALLY! They ****kissed, ****yay****! I hope you guys liked it. I'm starting to d****rop hints about how Gabriella disappeared. ****So if anyone can guess **_**exactly**_** what happened I'll – well I'm not exactly sure but it will be nice! I'****ll give you a hint,**** Brian and Jeff being cousins**** is important**** cough cough**


	14. I've Fallen For You

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters.**

**A/N: Thank you so much for all the reviews! I got a lot of**** interesting ideas on what you think happened to Gabriella, some of you were really close, but not exact.**** Anyway, enjoy…**

_Last Time…_

_Without warning Marie went up on her tippy toes and kissed Troy lightly on the lips. _

_"Thank you for everything" she said softly before disappearing around her bedroom door. _

_Troy stood there, unable to move. She had just kissed him, right? It hadn't been a dream? No, it had been a real kiss, short, but it was still a kiss. He smiled and walked towards his bedroom. _

**Chapter Thirteen**

I've Fallen For You

Marie shut the door behind her, what had she just done? She had kissed him! Why? Why? - Because she had fallen for him, that was it. She had fallen for Troy Bolton. He was amazing on so many different levels. She got the feeling she had known him forever.

_"You are so lucky I haven't ditched you yet, you ugly, useless woman."_

_"You are so stupid! Can't you think?"_

Jeff's words haunted her. But he was right – he was always right. What was she thinking? He didn't like her, let alone want to kiss her. She was the ugliest thing in the world. God, he probably hated her, she was such a slut.

Tears rushed to her eyes as she collapsed on the bed.

She cried for hours before she finally fell into a deep slumber.

The next morning she walked out into the kitchen, to face Troy Bolton. When she walked out he was sitting eating cereal. He looked up and smiled.

"Troy, about last night, I know you probably hate me for doing it, and I'm really sorry and I'll leave if you want me to." Marie said suddenly. Troy dropped his spoon in the bowl of cereal and walked over to Marie.

"Marie, I could never hate you, especially after what you did last night. I've fallen for you, I fell for you a long time ago, believe me. All I want is for you to be happy." Troy confessed.

"Me, the most hideous thing in the world?" Marie asked stunned.

"Yes you, and you're not hideous, you are the most beautiful woman I've ever laid eyes on" Troy said softly moving a strand of hair out of her face.

"Thank you Troy" Marie smiled. "I think I've fallen for you too" she continued quietly. Troy brought his hand up and cupped Marie's face. He started leaning in as did she. Their lips touched and fireworks went off. Marie snaked her arms around Troy's neck and Troy ran his hands down Marie's side and wrapped them around her waist as he pulled her closer, deepening the kiss. Finally air became an issue and the pair pulled away. Resting their foreheads together they smiled at each other.

"Yes, I've definitely fallen for you and do you know what that means?" Marie asked.

"What?"

"It's time for this to come off" Marie stated pulling her engagement ring off her finger. "I no longer belong to him." Troy smiled, proud that she had finally taken the ring off.

"Come on we're going to be late." He said pulling her out of the kitchen.

* * *

It was about half way through the school day, it was raining outside so the class had indoor recess in the classroom.

"So, what do you guys want to do?" Troy asked his class. Kevin's hand shot in the air.

"Yes Kevin."

"Duck, duck goose!" he said enthusiastically.

"Yeah" the class chorused.

"Ok, ok we'll play duck, duck goose. Everyone sit in a circle and I'll start." Troy said, he looked over at Marie, who looked very confused.

"Marie? Are you alright?" Troy asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine, I just, I…don't know how to play this game." She confessed.

"You've never played duck, duck goose before?" Troy asked. Marie shook her head,

"No" she said softly.

"Well, it's really easy. Everyone sits in a circle and then a person goes around and taps people on the head saying duck, duck, duck as many times as they like, then when they say goose, the person who they tapped on the head when they said it has to chase them around the circle. If the person who was tapped goose tags them before they go around the circle once and sit down the spot the goosed person had, then they have to sit in the middle of the circle. If the goosed person doesn't tag them, then it's their turn to say duck, duck, duck…." Troy explained. "Does that make sense?"

"Yeah, I think I get it."

The class had cleared a spot for her to sit in the circle. Troy began walking around the circle, duck…duck…duck….duck….duck…duck….duck….duck….duck….duck….duck…duck….duck….duck…goose!" he said as he began jogging around the circle, Connor close on his tail. Troy sat down in Connor's spot just as Connor caught up to him.

"Ok Connor, your turn."

The class played the game over and over, and all the while Troy kept a close watch on Emma, he didn't want her to have another attack. They had ramped up the number of times you had to run around the circle to 2 and Troy started to hear wheezes coming from the classroom. His head immediately snapped around to Emma, but she was giggling and smiling, no it couldn't be her. He moved his eyes around the circle, and he still couldn't find the source of the noise. It was only when he heard Marie tap Julia on the head and say goose when he became worried, Marie was the one wheezing.

The pair ran around the circle and Marie sat down quickly after her second lap and the wheezing only became worse, and her breaths were becoming short. Troy knew she was having an asthma attack; he got up from his spot in the circle and rushed over to her. It was obvious she had no idea want was going on and was afraid.

"Julia, in the bottom left draw of my desk, there's an inhaler, get it now" he ordered calmly. Julia ran over to Troy's desk and grabbed the inhaler; she ran back and handed it to Troy. Troy held the inhaler near Marie's mouth and said,

"Marie on the count of three I need you to take as deep a breath as you can and then hold it for 10 seconds. 1…2…3" Troy pressed the top of the inhaler and Marie breathed in deeply.

"Good" Troy soothed "Again" Marie took another deep breath and her breathing became steadier as the minutes passed.

"How did you know?" Marie asked once she calmed down. "I didn't even know."

_"To tell her, to not to tell her,__" _"I recognized the symptoms, Emma has asthma too." Troy lied, well it wasn't entirely a lie.

"Thank you, you saved my life." Marie said.

"I wouldn't want anything to happen to you." Troy said. "Are you sure you're ok?"

"Yes, I'm fine." Marie assured him.

"Does Marie have asthma too?" Emma asked, walking up to Troy and Marie.

"Yes she does" Troy said.

"Don't worry Marie; Mr. Bolton always knows what to do when you have an asthma attack." Emma assured her.

"He sure does." Marie agreed.

* * *

Later that evening, Troy was cooking steaks on his grill on his stove, while talking to Marie, when the phone rang.

"Can you get that? I'm at a crucial stage." Troy said. Marie laughed and picked up the phone.

"Hello" she greeted.

"Troy?" the woman asked.

"No, no I'm Marie, Troy's…friend" Marie said choosing her words carefully, of course she wanted to be Troy's girlfriend but he hadn't asked her, so she just said friend. "He's actually cooking steaks right now, he is at, and I quote, a crucial stage

"Ahhh, he's very protective over his steaks, he gets that from his father" the woman laughed as did Marie. Troy looked up when he heard Marie laughing.

"Who is it?" he whispered.

Marie shrugged her shoulders.

"Ask" Troy said putting down his tongs.

"Um, Troy wants to know who's on the phone" Marie said.

"Oh I'm sorry Marie, I completely forgot, I'm Lucille, Troy's mother." Lucille said.

"It's your mother" Marie said to Troy, who almost choked on the water he was drinking.

_"Shit, this is going to be interesting."_

"He's done now Mrs. Bolton, I take it you want to talk to him." Marie said.

"Yes, I would thank you and please call me Lucille dear, Mrs. Bolton makes me feel older than I already do" Lucille said.

"Ok, it was nice talking to you Lucille, here's Troy" Marie said handing the phone to Troy.

"I'll just go outside, while you talk to your mom" Marie whispered. Troy shook his head.

"No, it's fine, talk to your mom, I wouldn't want to invade anymore of your privacy" Marie whispered back as she turned and walked out onto the balcony of Troy's apartment. Troy sighed and said,

"Hello"

"Troy, am I interrupting a date, because if I am I'll call back tomorrow" Lucille said.

"No, mom, you're not interrupting a date." Troy sighed, he knew what was coming.

"Then what is Marie, doing at your apartment, at this time while you're making steaks?" she asked.

Troy took a deep breath, "Because she's living with me right now" Troy explained.

"What? Troy Bolton, you better get explaining. A woman is living with you and I haven't met her yet?"

"Mom, it's really complicated." Troy moaned.

"Well you better get explaining son" came Mr. Bolton's voice over the phone.

"Dad?"

"I came over when I heard you mother say what she just said." Mr. Bolton explained. Troy groaned.

"Please tell me you guys are the only ones there"

"Yes it's just us, now explain!" Mrs. Bolton assured him.

"Ok, ok you really want to know? She's living with me, because she doesn't have anywhere else to go-" Troy started to explain.

"You took in a homeless person?" Mrs. Bolton gasped.

"No! Mom, please if you want me to explain this to you guys have to promise not to interrupt." Troy exclaimed.

"Ok we promise" his parents said together.

"Ok good, anyway, I met her at The Red Oak Diner, while she was waitressing. I became friends with her and after a while I figured out that her fiancé was abusing her and convincing her that she was a stupid, useless woman, so I took her away from him and he's in jail now, but that's another story. And now she lives with me." Troy explained.

"Wow" Mr. Bolton said slowly.

"So…are you and Marie, you know, together?" Mrs. Bolton asked.

"Well, yes" Troy said slowly preparing himself for what he knew was coming next.

"Troy, that's fantastic! You've moved on, Gabriella would be very pleased." Mrs. Bolton said excitedly.

"Mom, she's not dead, I -" Troy began seriously.

"Troy, it's been five years and you're dating someone else now, you need to accept it." Mr. Bolton said.

"Mom, Dad please listen, and please don't think I've gone insane, because I haven't." Troy said.

"Ok…"

"Marie is Gabriella." He said simply.

"What?" Both Mr. and Mrs. Bolton exclaimed.

"Are you sure?" Mr. Bolton asked.

"Yes I'm sure, I've never been more sure of anything." Troy said. "But guys, these steaks are almost done and she's been standing out on the balcony for a while now, waiting for us to finish on the phone, so I'll call you back later in the week" Troy said.

"But, Troy, I wanted you to come to lunch, on Saturday, Christine will be there" Mrs. Bolton explained. "You can bring Gabriella, I'm sure Christine will be ecstatic to see her daughter again."

"Ok, mom, but you can't call Marie, Gabriella." Troy said.

"Why not?"

"Because she doesn't know that's her name" Troy said.

"Then how do you know it's Gabriella?" Mr. Bolton asked.

"Because I just know Dad, she looks like Gabi, speaks like Gabi, walks like Gabi, she does almost everything exactly like her, she doesn't remember us." Troy explained. "You just have to trust me on this one"

"Ok, Troy"

"Just make sure you warn Christine, we can't tell Marie yet, Jeff, her fiancé, really changed her emotionally, she's not ready to be completely confused just yet" Troy said.

"We understand, we'll see you on Saturday. Bye Troy" Mr. and Mrs. Bolton said.

"Bye Mom, bye Dad" Troy said before he hung up the phone.

Troy walked over to the balcony doors and opened them quietly. Marie was leaning against the railing of the balcony, looking up at the stars.

Troy smiled and walked up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist, causing her to jump a little. She turned and smiled when she saw it was Troy.

"Hey" she said softly.

"Hey, sorry I took so long, it was my parents, they invited us over for lunch on Saturday, and I said yes, is that ok?"

"Yeah that's fine. And don't worry; I was just gazing at the stars. They're so beautiful." Marie said.

"Not as beautiful as you." Troy said lovingly. Marie blushed.

"It's true." Troy said softly. "Come on it's cold outside, let's go inside."

**A/N:** **The****re**** you go another chapter! Sorry it took so long to update, but I've been Christmas shopping this weekend and putting up Christmas lights and such. I hoped you liked the chapter! I have a favor to ask you guys though. The next chapter is going to be the lunch at the Bolton's house**** with Ms. Montez – for all those who didn't get that Christine is Ms. Montez she is.**** (shout out to ****XxtroyellaxX4ever****, they've been waiting for a while for this! And here it is). Anyway I want to know if you have any ideas for what should happen there. I have some ideas myself, but if you guys have ****any ideas, I'd love to hear them. ****I'll credit you if I use your idea, unless of course, I was already going to use it, in which case, great minds think alike! Thanks for reading please review!**


	15. The Boltons' House

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters.**

**A/N:****I got a lot of ideas from people. A**** lot of you wanted flashbacks for this chapter and I totally agree with you.**** The flashbacks aren't exactly flashbacks but they're a type of flashbacks. However **_Lavonne Adams _**did come up with an idea for Christine (Mrs. Montez) to go through a situation of wanting to hold her daughter. I thought it was a great idea**** so I used it. Before I forget, HAPPY BIRTHDAY VANESSA!!!!**** I know it's a day late, but better late than never!**** Anyway enjoy…**

_Last Time…_

_"Hey" she said softly._

_"Hey, sorry I took so long, it was my parents, they invited us over for lunch on Saturday, and I said yes, is that ok?"_

_"Yeah that's fine. And don't worry; I was just gazing at the stars. They're so beautiful." Marie said._

_"Not as beautiful as you." Troy said lovingly. Marie blushed._

_"It's true." Troy said softly. "Come on __it's__ cold outside, let's go inside."_

**Chapter Fourteen**

The Boltons' House

Troy opened his eyes slowly as the bright light passed through the window. He smiled, seeing the sleeping brunette next to him. Last night, the pair had slept together **(A/N: actual sleep**** people!****L****ike ****zzzzzzzz) **for the first time Troy had missed watching her sleep, he and Gabriella had sleepovers all the time and sometimes he would climb up her balcony while she was sleeping, to surprise her.

He gently pushed her hair out of her serene face and kissed her forehead lovingly. Marie smiled and opened her eyes.

"Good morning" she whispered.

"Good morning" Troy answered. Marie snuggled closer, so that her head was lying on Troy's chest as he lay on his back. The pair dozed lazily together until the phone began ringing loudly. Troy groaned, rolled towards his bedside table and picked up the phone,

"Hello…yes you did…mom, I am an adult now, don't I get to choose what time I get up at?...yes I know we're coming over today, I just didn't know what time…ok mom, we'll see you then…love you too bye"

He hung up the phone and resumed his position, pulled Marie close and closed his eyes.

"Was that your mom?" Marie asked softly.

"Mmmhmm" Troy nodded, his eyes still shut.

"And what time does she want us there?" she asked.

"11:30" Troy said continuing to keep his eyes shut.

"Troy! It's almost 10:30, both of us still have to take a shower and get dressed!" Marie exclaimed sitting up in the bed. It was only when his body was no longer in contact with Marie's that he opened his eyes and groaned, the weekends were and always had been his time to sleep.

"Fine, you stay in bed until I'm done in the shower, then it's your turn. Deal?" Marie offered

"Fine" Troy groaned.

20 minutes later Marie came out of the bathroom in a bathrobe and her wet hair dangling down from her head.

"Ok, Troy, it's your turn now" Marie said, getting no response from Troy.

"Troy…" Marie said a little louder this time still getting no response.

"Fine you want to play that way" she muttered to herself. She walked over to the door and opened it all the way. Then, in one swift motion she slammed the door shut with all her strength. Troy shot up from his lying position.

"What the-" Troy yelled, but he stopped when he saw Marie standing next to the door grinning evilly.

"That, was not funny." He said seriously.

"I tried to wake you up nicely but you just wouldn't get up." Marie said innocently.

"You are lucky you are so beautiful" Troy said, stroking her cheek, Marie giggled.

25 minutes later Troy and Marie were in Troy's car driving to the Bolton's house.

**At the Bolton's house****…**

"So what time is Troy coming at?" Christine asked.

"Lucille told him 11:30, which probably won't happen, he's usually late. She probably wanted him here at 12 which was why she asked him to get here half an hour earlier than she wanted him here." Jack (Mr. Bolton) explained.

"No, he'll be here on time, this time." Lucille countered "Gabriella's with him."

"Excuse me?" Mrs. Montez said.

"Christine, I don't know how you're going to take this, but Troy says he's found Gabriella." Lucille said softly. Christine put her hand over her heart and breathed in slowly, tears threatening to fall – happy tears of course.

"But, Christine there something more, see Gabriella doesn't remember anything about any of us. She thinks her name is Marie." Tears were now falling freely from Mrs. Montez's eyes,

"But, she's happy right?"

"She is now. This is the part that's hard to say. Her fiancé was abusing her, Troy saved her from that nightmare, and from the sound of her voice she is fine now." Lucille explained. Christine couldn't speak, her daughter was alive, but how long had she lived with an abusive man? She hated this guy without even knowing him. Although she was glad she was in safe hands now.

"Does she know?" Christine asked after a while. Lucille shook her head,

"Troy wants to wait until she is completely emotionally stable before he tries to get her to remember."

"I suppose that's a good idea. It's just going to be hard not to run up and hug her tightly." Christine said sadly.

"It's going to be hard for all of us; she was like a daughter to us, just like Troy is like a son to you." Jack said.

"I'm just glad she's ok." Christine said breathlessly.

"We are too" Lucille said.

DING DONG

Christine drew in her breath.

"Are you ready for this?" Lucille asked.

"As ready as I ever will be." Christine said, bringing a warm smile to her face.

The three adults walked to the front door and opened it, to reveal Troy and Marie. Christine fought back tears as she gazed at her daughter; she had grown up so much in the past 5 years.

"Troy!" Lucille said excitedly hugging him tightly.

"Hi mom" Troy replied after Mrs. Bolton broke the hug.

"Come in, come in" she ushered. Troy and Marie stepped inside the house.

Troy gave his dad a hug and then when he embraced Christine she whispered,

"Thank you" Troy smiled and broke the hug mouthing you're-welcome.

"So, guys this is my girlfriend, Marie" He introduced. "Marie this is my mom, who you spoke with on the phone, my dad, and Christine, if you ever need anything or if you just want the most amazing brownies you've ever had in your life, go to her." His mother gasped playfully. "Sorry mom, but we all know Christine makes the most amazing brownies and you make the most amazing cakes." Troy explained. The five adults laughed.

"It's very nice to meet all of you." Marie said.

"Well let's not all stand here, come on let's go into the kitchen." Lucille said leading them into the kitchen.

"Would you like something to drink?" Mr. Bolton asked.

"Yeah I'll have dr. pepper please" Troy answered.

"Marie?"

"Um, may I just have water please?" Marie asked politely.

"Of course" Jack replied. He poured the drinks and handed them to the pair.

"Thank you"

"You're are more than welcome"

"So Troy, how have you been? I haven't seen you in so long" Christine asked

"I've been fine, you know the usual, teaching and coaching, Marie actually has been coming with me to work this past work." Troy explained.

"Oh that's fun, do you like that?" she asked.

"Yeah, it's really great. Troy is so great with the kids, they love him." Marie said smiling.

"Ahh, but they love you too" Troy pointed out. Marie smiled.

"Troy will you help me carry the salad in?" Lucille asked.

"Of course"

"Everyone else can go sit down" Lucille said.

Half an hour later everyone was finished with their lunch.

"That was delicious Lucille" Marie complimented.

"Thank you, why don't we go sit in the living room, it's much more comfortable there." Lucille offered. Everyone got up from the table and Marie immediately began collecting the plates.

"We'll just get them later Marie" Jack said.

"No, no I'll get them, don't worry about it." Marie replied.

"Thank you" he said. Marie piled up most of the plates while Troy got the remaining dishes. The pair joined the older adults in the living room, sitting down on the sofa in front of the television.

As soon as she sat down the oddest feeling came over her, sort of like the one she had felt at East High.

_"__No you have to state that the triangles are r__ight triangles before you can __u__se__ the HL theorem" _

"So, Marie how long have you lived in Albuquerque?" Mrs. Bolton asked causing the voice in her head to stop.

"Oh, um a little more than a month" she answered.

_"But I already stated that the triangles have a right angle in them" __This time it was a boy's voice._

"Oh, so where did you moved from?" Jack asked.

"Connecticut" Marie replied.

_"I know! But __you have to make sure they know it's a right triangle, saying it has a right angle isn't the same as saying it's a right triangle!" _

"Wow did you like it in Connecticut?" Lucille asked.

"Yeah, it was…nice" Marie answered.

_"But all right triangles have a right angle, if everyone knows that then why do you have to say it!" The boy's voice exclaimed._

"So you have family there?" Lucille asked as she watched Christine wince ever so slightly. Marie sighed.

"Um, my mother and father are both dead, and I've never met any of my other relatives, or at least I don't think I have" she explained. Christine, felt like her heart had been ripped out, her daughter thought she had no mother, she wished she could rush over to her and hug her tightly telling her she did have a mother who loved her very much.

"What do you mean, you think?" Jack asked. _"They're pushing it" Troy groaned in his head._

"It's complicated, I'm not even really sure, you probably don't want to hear it." Marie said.

_"Oh, it's just the way it works! Do you want my help or not?"__ the voice said growing frustrated._

"We have time, if you want you can tell us" Lucille offered.

"A while ago, I'm not really sure exactly how long ago, I woke up one day in this random apartment. I had no idea where I was or who I was, I felt so useless and confused. Anyway this man came in and told me I was his girlfriend and kind of filled me in on my life and what I was like" Marie explained.

"And I take it this was Jeff?" Troy asked slowly.

_"Ok fine, but I still need your help!" the boy gave in._

"Yeah" she said softly. Troy nodded and glared at his parents not to push it any further.

_"Ok, what's next?"_

_"Um__Physics! Ok this doesn't make any sense, I know that you see colors because they get reflected off__ the objects__, but where do the rest go?"_ Marie couldn't take this much longer, the voices in her head were getting stronger she need to get out of the room.

"May I be excused, I have to go to the bathroom?" she asked.

"Yes of course, it's just down the hall, the first door on the right." Jack said,

"Thanks" Marie replied walking out of the room.

"Mom, Dad did you have to push that topic?" Troy asked sharply.

"We didn't push the topic, we just wanted to know" Jack defended.

"Just be careful talking about things like that to her" Troy warned. He looked over at Christine,

"You ok?" he asked.

"I'm fine, I'm a little overwhelmed but fine" she answered.

"You're taking this so well" Troy said.

"I just can't believe she's ok" Christine said.

"I couldn't either, but it's definitely her right?" Troy asked.

"Yeah definitely." Mrs. Montez confirmed.

"With you two sitting on that couch it looked like all the times Gabriella used to tutor you." Jack said.

"God I don't know how she put up with you, all you asked was why, why, why." Lucille sighed. The four laughed,

"But she did" Troy smiled.

"God, I'm glad you found her" Christine said suddenly.

"I am too" Troy said.

"You know, Troy I haven't seen your eyes so bright since that day I came into the classroom. It's good to see you truly happy again" Mr. Bolton said.

"Gabriella is the only person I need to be truly happy. There is no one else in this world who I love more, she's the only one" Troy explained looking up, as soon as he did though he saw Marie, tears streaming down her face standing in the doorway. She turned and ran out of the house.

"Shit" Troy cursed getting up and chasing after her.

**About a minute before with Marie…**

Marie walked out of the bathroom, she hadn't actually done anything. She just stood in the middle of the powder room and tried to clear her head. She was confused; the voices sounded so familiar, she just didn't know who they were and it didn't help she couldn't see any faces.

She walked down the hallway and as she was entering the living room she heard Troy say,

"Gabriella is the only person I need to be truly happy. There is no one else in this world who I love more, she's the only one"

Gabriella! Who was Gabriella? How could have been so stupid? Troy didn't love her, Jeff was right, she was just an ugly slut. Marie did the first thing she could, she ran out of the house, tears pouring out of her eyes. She could hear Troy calling her name, but she didn't stop.

Suddenly Troy grabbed her wrist and pulled her to a stop so she was facing him.

"Marie…" Troy started to say.

"How could you? I trusted you!" Marie cried.

"Marie please let me explain." Troy begged.

"What is there to explain Troy?" she cried.

"Gabriella is you, you are Gabriella. You know how you said you woke up one morning in an apartment and couldn't remember anything. Jeff lied to you. You're name is Gabriella Montez, you used to go to East High School, but when you were a senior you never came back from babysitting. Gabi, please tell me you remember." Troy explained.

"How can I believe that? I let you in on a secret and you use it against me! Why are you doing this to me!" she sobbed.

"Because I love you" Troy said desperately.

"You're just doing the same thing Jeff did! You gain my trust, tell me you love me and then use you me!" she bawled.

"That necklace you're wearing, I gave that to you before I left to visit my family in Maine when we were in high school." Troy said.

"Why are you doing this to me? Just stay away from me!" She sobbed before she turned and continued running down the street.

"Marie! Wait!" Troy yelled running after her. Marie turned and looked at Troy.

"Just stay away please, just stay away from me" she begged softly, tears cascading out of her eyes, before she continued running down the street.

Troy felt his heart shatter. His worst fear had come true; he had lost her, _again_.

**A/N:**** Please, don't hurt me! I'm sorry, but it had to be done. I'm not entirely sure about the next chapter, but there will definitely be more flashbacks and maybe some where Marie can see things!**** I hope you understood the voice things in Marie's ****head,**** they were flashbacks to when she was tutoring Troy. If you still don't get it, PM me.**** Please review, this was really hard to write!! Thank you so much for reading! **


	16. Everything

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters.**

**A/N: OMG I am so sorry I haven't updated in a while. I've have just been ****soooo**** busy. Every single night I was working on projects, essays or studying for one of many tests. I am just glad it's over and it's finally break!! Hopefully I'll be able to update more often, but I'm not making any promises, anyway you guys just want to know what happens don't you? Yeah, so I'll shut up now! Enjoy…**

_Last Time…_

_"Why are you doing this to me? Just stay away from me!" She sobbed before she turned and continued running down the street._

_"Marie! Wait!" Troy yelled running after her. Marie turned and looked at Troy._

_"Just stay away please, just stay away from me" she begged softly, tears cascading out of her eyes, before she continued running down the street. _

_Troy felt his heart shatter. His worst fear had come true; he had lost her, again. _

**Chapter Fifteen**

Everything

Marie didn't stop running, she didn't know where she was going but she couldn't stop. Tears were falling feely from her face as she ran through the streets of Albuquerque.

Eventually she found herself at the entrance to Albuquerque Park. She ran through the gate to a spot under a willow tree near a lake. She collapsed to the ground sobbing. How could she have been so stupid? Her heart had officially been ripped in two and no matter how hard she tried she couldn't stop crying.

After what seemed like hours Marie's tears started to subside. She leaned up against the trunk of the tree and looked out across the lake.

"It's pretty isn't it?" came a voice from behind her. Marie turned and saw a little girl looking at her.

"Yes it is" Marie replied.

"What are you doing out here all alone?" the little girl asked.

"It's very confusing. What are you doing out here?" Marie answered.

"I got lost" the little girl replied sadly.

"Well, shall we go find your mommy or daddy, I'm sure they are very worried." Marie said standing up and reaching out her hand.

"Thank you" the girl said softly.

"My name is Marie by the way, what's yours?"

"Allie"

"Well, Allie can you tell me what your mom looks like?" Marie asked kindly as the pair began to walk away from the tree.

"She has light brownish hair and glasses and um…and my daddy has dark hair and he likes basketball." Allie explained.

"Ok, let's go see if we can find them. Where did you see them last?"

"We were by the playground."

Marie and Allie walked towards the playground sure enough they saw a young couple who were looking frantically around the play ground.

"Mommy! Daddy!" Allie yelled letting go of Marie's hand and running towards the pair. The women looked up and relief washed over her face. Marie stood and watched the happy reunion.

"Allison Julia Cross, don't you dare ever run away from us like that again. You scared us" the man scolded.

"I'm sorry daddy, but Marie helped me find you again" Allie explained.

"Who's Marie?" the women asked gently. Allie pointed towards Marie who smiled softly.

The family began walking towards Marie.

"Thank you so much for finding our daughter, I don't know how we can thank you" the women said kindly.

"It was my pleasure." Marie replied.

"Well we are very thankful. I'm Kelsi, by the way and this is my husband Jason" Kelsi said as she shook Marie's hand.

"I'm Marie" she said as she shook Kelsi's hand. However when she held out her hand to shake Jason's he looked like he'd seen a ghost and stood completely frozen sharing at Marie. Kelsi elbowed him. He grunted, snapped out of his trance and extended him arm.

"It's nice to meet you" he said.

"You as well." Marie said.

"Would you like to dinner with us? As our way of thanking you." Kelsi asked politely.

"Oh I…I couldn't except that offer."

"Please" Kelsi begged.

"I really shouldn't, I-"

"Please Marie" Allie pouted.

Marie sighed "Ok, I can't resist that"

"Wonderful" Kelsi smiled.

"Yay!" Allie exclaimed. "Come on Marie I'll race you to the car!" Allie took off with Marie right behind her.

"T…that's G…Gab.." Jason stuttered.

"Gabriella?"

"Yeah"

"I know, Troy was right, he told me about her on the phone the other day but I wonder why he isn't here." Kelsi wondered.

Jason nodded. "Yeah, we better make sure he's not here, you know how protective Troy is. If she disappeared and then he found out we took her…we would be in for it."

"I know but wouldn't she have mentioned him if he was here" Kelsi pointed out.

"I suppose" Jason answered.

"Maybe she'll tell us later." Kelsi said as the pair arrived at the car.

An hour and a half later the four had finished dinner and were just getting in the car.

"So is there somewhere we can take you?" Jason asked.

Marie froze, she hadn't thought about this, she couldn't go to Troy's, she couldn't go to Taylor and Chad's she couldn't go to her apartment, Brian might find her.

"Um…I…I" Marie stuttered nervously.

"If you don't have anywhere to go, you are more than welcome to stay with us" Kelsi offered.

"I wouldn't want to impose"

"Don't worry about it, we have plenty of room" Kelsi said kindly.

"Thank you so much" Marie said gratefully.

"It's our pleasure" Kelsi said.

* * *

The next morning Marie walked down the stairs of the Cross household. She found her way into the kitchen and saw Kelsi scrambling around for papers. 

"Can I help you find something?" Marie asked.

"I just can't find my papers for school, I must have left them there. Would you like to come with me to get them?" Kelsi explained.

"Sure" Marie said.

"Let me just leave Jason a note, he and Allie always sleep in" she said Marie smiled.

"Ok, come on let's go" Kelsi said leading Marie out to her car.

"So, what do teach?" Marie asked.

"Music" Kelsi answered.

"Wow. Do you sing, or play an instrument?"

"Well, I compose mostly and play the piano, but I've done a little singing, nothing fancy though. I just teach in music class." Kelsi explained.

"That's amazing, I wish I could sing, I don't think I've ever tried" Marie said.

"Well maybe you should try when we get there" Kelsi offered.

"I…I don't know, I'm probably awful."

"No, I bet you're great." Kelsi said.

"I'll guess we'll have to wait and see" Marie said.

A few minutes later they pulled up at East High.

"You work here?" Marie asked unsurely.

"Yeah, is that ok?"

"Yeah, yeah it's fine"

"O…k well, come on follow me."

Kelsi led Marie through the vaguely familiar school. The pair walked down a long hallway and at the beginning of the hallway Marie heard a voice that sounded just like hers say,

_"Guess who?"_

She shook her head, refusing to listen to the voice in her head however they continued playing.

_"Hmmm, I don't know, Taylor?"_

_"No"_

_"Kelsi?"_

_"No"_

_"__Sharpay__?"_

_"No"_

_"I give up, I can't think of anyone else" _

The boy's voice sounded so familiar. And was he talking about the Taylor, Sharpay and Kelsi that Marie knew?

_"Come on wildcat, you can get it" _

_"Oh, I know who it is, it's my favorite girl"_

_"And who would that be?"_

_"__Ahh__, none other than the beautiful Gabriella Montez" _

Marie gasped. Troy had told her that was her real name, but no he was lying. She was hearing things.

"Marie?" Kelsi said snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Hmmm"

"Are you ok, you just gasped"

"Oh I just…I thought of something" she lied.

"O…K" Kelsi said unsurely. "well we're here" She led Marie into the classroom.

"You can look around, I just have to find my papers." Kelsi said.

Marie walked around the classroom and looked at photo after photo of Kelsi's students performing. She made her way over to the piano and ran her fingers over the side of the grand piano. As she approached the keys a sheet of music that was sticking out from the bottom of the pile caught her eye. She pulled the sheet of music from the read the title.

_Everything_

Marie smiled and sat down on the bench putting the music in front of her. Without thinking her fingers began moving over the keys as she played the beginning of the melody. Softly she began singing.

_You're a falling __star,__ you're the __get away__ car._

_You're the line in the sand when I go too far._

_You're the swimming pool, on an August day._

_And __You're__ the perfect thing to see._

_And you play your card, but it's __kinda__ cute._

_Ah, __When__ you smile at me you know exactly what you do._

_Baby don't__ pretend, that you don't know it's true._

_Cause__ you can see it when I look at you._

Kelsi turned and looked at Marie. Her hand flew up to her heart; she was singing the song Gabriella had written.

_And in this crazy __life,_

_and through these crazy times_

_It's you, it's you, you make me sing._

_You're every line, you're every word, __you're__ everything._

Marie didn't need the music anymore; the melody just came to her naturally. She closed her eyes letting music run through her.

_You're a carousel, you're a wishing well_

_And you light me up, when you ring my bell._

_You're a mystery, you're from outer space_

_You're every minute of my __everyday_

_And I can__'t believe, uh that I'm your girl_

_And I get to kiss __you__ baby just because I can._

_Whatever comes our way, ah we'll see it through_

_And you know that's what our__ love can do._

_And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times_

_It's you, it's you, you make me sing_

_You're every line, you're every word, you're everything._

Kelsi felt tears in her eyes. This was the song Gabriella had written for Troy. She was going to sing it at his birthday party. Only he had never gotten to hear it, Gabriella disappeared before his birthday.

_So, La, La, La, La, La, La, La_

_So, La, La, La, La, La, La, La_

_And__ in this crazy life, _

_and through these crazy times_

_It's you, it's you, you make me sing._

_You're every line, you're every word, __you're__ everything._

_You're every song, and I sing along._

_Cause __you're__ my __everything_

_yeah __yea__h_

_So, La, La, La, La, La, La, La_

_So, La, La, La, La, La, La, La_

Marie smiled as she finished the song. Subconsciously her hand drifted up to the necklace around her neck. She turned around and saw Kelsi in tears.

"Kelsi, what's wrong?" Marie asked.

"Nothing, it's nothing" Kelsi said softly wiping away her tears.

"No you're crying something must be wrong"

"You sang that so beautifully." Kelsi admitted.

"It's a beautiful song. Did you write it?" Marie asked.

Kelsi shook her head. "No"

"Then who did?" Marie asked.

Kelsi looked up, debating whether to tell her the truth.

"A friend of mine from when I went to high school here." she answered.

"So you went to school here?" Marie asked, maybe she should ask Kelsi about Gabriella Montez

"Yeah"

"Did you know a Gabriella Montez?" Marie asked.

Kelsi nodded her head slowly. "She wrote the song" Kelsi whispered.

"C…can I see a picture of her?" Marie asked quietly. Kelsi nodded and walked over to her desk, grabbing a frame and brought it back over to Marie.

"This is a picture of 'the gang' on Christmas Eve" Kelsi said. "Zeke and Sharpay, Chad and Taylor" Kelsi pointed to the teenagers standing by the Christmas tree. Sharpay had her mouth open like she was being dramatic about something, while Zeke placed a calming hand on her shoulder. Taylor was just about to whack Chad's afro and Chad just looked pleased with himself.

"Jason and I" Kelsi pointed. Kelsi was sitting at the piano next to the tree and Jason had his arms wrapped around her.

"and that's Gabriella, with Troy" Kelsi said pointing to the couple in the center of the picture. Gabriella was lying on the couch with her head resting on Troy's lap. Troy was gazing down at her with his hands stroking her hair.

"The picture captured us all so well, it's exactly what we were like." Kelsi finished. Marie had tears streaming out of her eyes.

"That's me" she cried softly covering her mouth with her hand.

Kelsi nodded.

"He was telling the truth" Marie said softly.

"Who was?" Kelsi asked.

"Troy" Marie said breathlessly.

"Troy doesn't lie to you Marie." Kelsi explained.

"Why can't I remember?" Marie sobbed.

"I don't know"

"I'm sorry" Marie cried.

"You have nothing to be sorry about."

"Yes I do, I'm never going to remember. I've met all of my old friends, I've been to my old school, I'm never going to remember."

"Yes you will. You remembered how to play that song. The song _you_ wrote." Kelsi persuaded.

"I didn't even know I could play the piano" Marie realized through her tears.

"Exactly, you will remember, it will just take time. And I promise you everyone will be 100 percent behind you." Kelsi said confidently.

"Thank you Kelsi, thank you for everything" Marie said hugging her.

"No, thank you. For coming back into our lives. We've missed you more than you can imagine." Kelsi said.

**A/N:** **So now Marie knows the truth, but she doesn't remember :( . I hoped you liked that chapter! The song is ****Everything**** By Michael ****Buble****. It is an amazing song if you get the chance listen to it.**** I'll put a link in my profile.**** I had to change a lyric from man to girl. Anyway happy Christmas Eve!!!! Please review!!!**


	17. A Familiar Score and A Familiar Face

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters.**

**A/N: Sorry for the wait but I just got back from Massachusetts, yeah I know I said I would try and update more often but I ****kinda**** forgot about going skiing for a few days when I was writing that. Anyway a lot of you got confused about the last chapter and I don't know whether I was just being unclear or it was confusing or I don't know but I'll just clear it up for anyone who is still confused. Ok, so Marie knows that she has lost her memory and knows that she is really Gabriella, however she doesn't remember being Gabriella. If you still don't get it PM me and I'll try and make it clearer. Thanks so much for all the reviews!!!! Enjoy…**

_Last Time…_

_"Exactly, you will remember, it will just take time. And I promise you everyone will be 100 percent behind you." Kelsi said confidently. _

_"Thank you Kelsi, thank you for everything" Marie said hugging her._

_"No, thank you. __For coming back into our lives.__ We've missed you more than you can imagine." Kelsi said. _

**Chapter Sixteen**

A Familiar Score and A Familiar Face

If Troy didn't have a basketball game on Sunday he wouldn't have left his apartment, however being the coach he was forced to attend. He drove to East High slowly, trying to stay focused on the road, which was proving impossible.

His mind kept wandering back to her and no matter how hard he tried he couldn't stop thinking about her. He kept mentally slapping himself over and over for what he had said his parents' living room, why didn't he just keep it to himself, or use the name Marie? He was also scared that he would never see her again, that scared him the most, he couldn't lose her again. He just hoped and prayed she was safe where ever she was.

Just then Troy pulled into the East High. He parked his car and began walking towards the locker room.

45 minutes later the game had begun and it was a good thing Troy wasn't playing because he would have played awfully. As the coach, Troy's job was mostly done, sure he had to yell words of encouragement and every now and again think of a few plays but the hard part had been done during practice.

Half time came and went and soon the game had finished. East High had won, but only just. Troy sat on the bleachers and looked up at the score board, 91-90. It was then that Troy noticed he was score in a certain game during junior year that proved just how much Gabriella affected his game.

_Flashback_

_Troy checked his phone for the thousandth time the day as he walked down the hallway._

_"Nothing. Where is she? I can't do this for much longer. Why hasn't she texted me back?" _

_He entered the cafeteria and the room broke out into whispers instead of its usual louder chatter. But Troy failed to notice this, his worries on where Gabriella was consumed his mind. He made his way over to the lunch table, sat down and sighed._

_"Troy, I'm sure she's fine." Taylor said trying to convince Troy._

_"I just want her to text me back so I know she's ok" Troy replied looking down at his phone again._

_"Dude, you need to chill. Maybe she forgot to turn her phone on" Chad suggested._

_"Chad, this Gabi we're talking about not you, she doesn't forgot to do anything." Troy said._

_Suddenly Andrea, from Gabriella and Taylor's math class came running over to the table._

_"Oh my god! Did you guys hear about the crash on South Avenue?" Andrea asked. Taylor and Sharpay knew exactly what Andrea was talking about and they didn't want Troy to hear about it. Taylor and Sharpay began mouthing no, but it didn't help._

_"No" Chad answered._

_"Well, Jess said that there were like 5 cars involved, a blue one, a black one, a red one and two gray ones, they all just kind of piled up. Yeah she was in it, that's why she was late to school, but she was fine, just a scratch. But she said two of the cars rolled on their sides!" Andrea explained. Troy face was pale, Gabriella had a black car._

_"What kind of black car?" Troy asked immediately._

_"I don't know, I'll go get Jessica, she'll tell you" Andrea replied before walking off._

_"Troy, I'm sure it's not Gabriella's car, there are lots of black cars out there." Sharpay reasoned._

_Troy didn't say anything he just looked straight on. Jess came walking up to the table._

_"Hey guys, so I guess Andrea told you about the crash, yeah it looked pretty bad. But most of us were ok." Jess said._

_"What kind of black car was it?" Troy asked._

_"The one that flipped on its side, ummm, I think it was an Audi" Jess said. Troy couldn't move Gabriella had a black Audi._

_"Gabriella" Troy whispered._

_"But Jess, there are lots of black Audi's out there? Right?" Taylor asked._

_"Yeah, it could have been anyone at 7 in the morning." Jess said._

_Troy face paled even more, everyone knew South Avenue was only 5 minutes from East High and school started at 7:30. Gabriella always got to school early, so she always left early. Troy reached into this pocket and dialed Gabriella's number and when he got no response he dialed her home number. But no one picked up._

_By the end of the day Troy was a nervous wreck, he still hadn't heard anything from Gabriella or Ms. Montez and he wasn't allowed to leave school. To make matters worse Troy had to play a basketball game after school today and the way he was feeling it didn't look like things were going to go too well._

_By the last quarter the Wildcats were losing 78-87 and Troy had played his worst game ever. He missed almost every shot he took and hadn't stolen the ball once. It was then however that the gym doors opened and in walked Gabriella Montez. Troy stopped dead in his tracks. She smiled at him and he just wanted to run up and hug her tightly, just to make sure he wasn't seeing things. She sensed that and shook her head no and mouthed keep-playing-wildcat. Troy grinned and stole the ball successfully running down the court._

_The Wildcats were losing 89-90 and Troy had the ball. As he got ready to take a shot, with 2 seconds remaining one of the opposing team members rammed into him causing him to lose his balance and fall over. The referee called for Troy to take 2 free throws._

_Troy stood on the free throw line and shot the ball perfectly into the net. On the next one Troy scanned the crowd until his eyes locked with Gabriella's. He grinned and prepared to take the shot, not taking his eyes off Gabriella's. Mr. Bolton was practically having a heart attack, this boy was not about to take a blind free throw was he? Mr. Bolton couldn't look._

_Not taking his gaze off hers Troy shot the free throw. The crowd waited in agony to see whether or not it would go it. Finally the ball reached the net and went perfectly through the hoop. The crowd cheered wildly. Mr. Bolton shook his head. Troy was one crazy boy._

_Troy ran up to the stands and pulled Gabriella close to him, embracing her in a tight hug. He kissed the top of her head and broke the hug._

_"Are you alright? What happened?" Troy asked worriedly._

_"I'm fine, I'm fine Troy." Gabriella assured him. "The car just spun around and flipped on its side, but the air bags went off, I'm ok. I just went to the hospital to make sure everything was ok. Then I had to go sort out insurance and stuff like that."_

_"But you are sure you're not hurt or anything?" Troy asked again._

_"I promise you I'm fine." Gabriella assured him stroking his cheek gently._

_"Don't ever scare me like that again." Troy whispered._

_"I'm sorry" she whispered back before wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him._

_End Flashback_

Troy sighed; he just wanted to know she was ok. He took another deep breath and closed his eyes letting his thoughts consume him.

**With Gabriella and Kelsi ****(A/N: Remember they're**** at the school too, from the last chapter)…**

"Kelsi, what was happening during this picture?" Marie asked suddenly. She had been staring at the picture, trying to remember something, anything about it.

"Well, I was sitting at the piano playing Christmas music, Jason was humming along in my ear, like he usually does while I play. As from Chad, Taylor, Sharpay and Zeke well, I'm not sure exactly what happened, but I think Chad commented on the fact that Sharpay looked like the Christmas tree, because her dress had red and silver circles all over it. Sharpay of course got all dramatic and Zeke was trying to calm her down and Taylor was going to slap Chad on the head. She did that a lot." Kelsi chuckled a little. "Then you guys, I don't really know what you were doing. But you were tired, I know that because you had been staying up late helping your mom decorate and because Christmas was on a Sunday you were still exhausted from staying up late from you're school work." Kelsi explained.

"How late did I stay up?" Marie asked.

"I'm not sure really, but you were up pretty late or I should say early most nights. Troy was worried about you. He said that you were over working yourself and that was true. You used to get so stressed over school. You would go into 'panic mode' before a test. We all knew you would ace it, but you were convinced you would fail. Troy was the only one who could calm you down." Kelsi explained.

"Wow" Marie breathed.

"Anyway…you were tired so Troy let you lie down. Every so often we would hear a burst of laughter or something then it would go back into whispers. You guys were in your own little world. You really did love each other" Kelsi smiled.

"I think I still love him" Marie whispered. "I just hope he doesn't hate me after I ran away from him."

"Trust me, he won't hate you, he'll be glad to have to back" Kelsi assured her.

"Can you drive me to his apartment; I really want to fix this now." Marie said.

"Yeah sure come on let's go." Kelsi said as she grabbed the papers from her desk. The two women walked down the hallway, and then suddenly out of nowhere two men grabbed them. Marie and Kelsi screamed and kicked as the men turned them to face them.

"Let me go!" Marie screamed.

"I don't think so" Brian replied revealing himself from behind the lockers. Marie's face paled.

"Boys let this one go, I don't need her." Brian ordered as he pointed to Kelsi. Kelsi tired to move towards Marie but Brain hollered,

"YOU STAY AWAY! NOW SCRAM!!" Terrified, Kelsi ran off trying to think of where to go. She ran down the hallway and started screaming,

"Help! Someone help!"

**Meanwhile, in the gym with Troy…**

Troy looked up, he could hear someone screaming. He stood up and cocked his head towards the gym door. He decided that in fact it was definitely someone screaming for help. He quickly moved towards the door and ran out into the hallway. He saw a woman running down the hallway screaming for help.

"Hey!" he called running after her. The women turned around and Troy immediately recognized the woman to be Kelsi.

"Troy, oh thank god, come, come with me!" Kelsi panted.

"Kelsi, what's up?" Troy asked as he followed her down the hallway.

"Remember Brian Larson, from high school?"

"Please tell me he's not here."

"Sorry, but he's here and he's about to beat Gabriella" Kelsi explained.

"Shit!" Troy exclaimed running faster. Soon the pair arrived at the scene only to see Marie lying on the ground. Troy's heart skipped a beat as he ran towards her.

"She's still breathing, but by the looks of it, she's unconscious. Come on let's get her to the hospital" Troy said. He picked Marie up and carried her bridal style towards his car. He placed her gently in the passenger's seat and buckled her in. Then he ran around to the driver's seat and jumped in. Before shutting the door Kelsi called,

"I'll meet you at the hospital"

"Ok" Troy yelled back as he shut the door and started the engine.

As Troy pulled out of the parking lot he heard Marie moan softly.

"It's ok, Marie we're going to get you to the hospital" He soothed looking over at her.

Marie slowly opened her eyes, regaining consciousness. Just as she opened her eyes fully bright lights shone through the windshield.

Troy turned to look at her as he turned the steering wheel sharply to the right. Marie immediately knew what he was doing; he was turning the car, so the oncoming car would hit his side of the car, dead on.

"Troy no!" she cried out as the bright lights blinded her and the oncoming car hit their car.

**A/N: DUN ****DUN ****DUN ****Bet you ****didn't see that coming! Thanks again for ****reading. Please review!! And ****Happy New Year!!!** **Oh and I just want to make a little not about the flashback thing, some of you may be wondering how Gabriella could have walked away from the car crash unharmed when the car flipped on its side. Well, it can happen, my mom and brother were in an accident and the same thing happened and they were perfectly fine, because of the air bags. So yeah just wanted to say that! Please review! **


	18. Your Guardian Angel

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters.**** I also don't own Even Now by Karen Kingsbury (you'll understand when you read the chapter)**

**A/N: Ok, ok I'm back.**** I am really nervous about this chapter, it took me forever to write(one of the reason for lack of update) I think I rewrote it 5 or 6 times so, I'm not sure if it is any good, or if it's too weird, I don't know! So**** PLEASE**** review****! Enjoy**** (I hope)****…**

_Last Time…_

_As Troy pulled out of the parking lot he heard Marie moan softly. _

_"It's ok, Marie we're going to get you to the hospital" He soothed looking over at her. _

_Marie slowly opened her eyes, regaining consciousness. Just as she opened her eyes fully bright lights shone through the windshield. _

_Troy turned to look at her as he turned the steering wheel sharply to the right. __Marie immediately knew what he was doing; he was turning the car, so the oncoming car would hit his side of the car, dead on._

_"Troy no!" she cried out as the bright lights blinded her and the oncoming car hit their car. _

**Chapter Seventeen**

Your Guardian Angel

The lights got brighter and brighter until that was all that was left.

When Marie opened her eyes again she was in a bed and everything around her was completely white. She tried to sit up, but she couldn't move.

Was she dead? Was she dreaming? Had it really happened? Where was she? Suddenly the bright lights that had been coming from the car seemed so familiar.

_Flashback_

_She had just finished babysitting for the Davidson's. She was humming along softly to the radio as she drove down the road._

_Suddenly without warning bright headlights shone through the window shield into her eyes. There was a car headed straight for hers!_

_She tried to swerve out of harm's way but the oncoming__ car__ moved so that it was still racing towards her. _

_She was scared, no that scratch that, she was terrified. Without thinking she grabbed hold of the necklace that was around__ her neck and prayed for her safety._

_The oncoming car hit her car and she felt her head bash against the steering wheel as the airbags went off. Her world became blackness as the window shied glass shattered. _

_End Flashback_

Marie shot up from the bed she was lying in, her heart beating rapidly. _"So I can move"__ she thought_The vision seemed so familiar, so realistic. What on earth was going on?

Just then a man walked in through one of the walls causing Marie to jump.

"W…who are you?" she asked nervously.

"I am your guardian angel" the man replied simply.

"My what?" she asked.

"Your guardian angel" he repeated. "I've been watching over you for quite some time now" he said.

"Then can you tell me who I am?" she asked. Her guardian angel shook his head,

"Only you can remember who you are" he said simply.

"Can't you help me?" Marie reasoned.

"No" He said.

Marie sighed.

"I'll give you this phrase, see if it jogs any memories, _The__ days passed like so many minutes…." _he said.

Marie thought and thought, letting the words set into her mind. She closed her eyes,

Flashback

_"__The days passed like so many minutes, each one colored with a different set of ne__w and frightening emotions. Some afternoons Lauren drove to the lake with Shane, and they'd walk along the shore talking about forever…__"_

_She was reading Even Now by Karen __Kingsbury,__ however h__er reading was interrupted when she heard her balcony door open. She smirked, knowing who was at the door and wha__t he was about to do. She stayed sitting on her bed__ pretending to not notice him until she could hear him breathing. _

_"Don't even think about it__" _

_"How did you know I was here?" he __asked bewildered as to how she knew._

_"I'm not deaf you know, I__ heard the door open." she__ laughed._

_"Then wh__y didn't you say anything?" he__ questioned._

_"Because I wanted to see what you were going to do, and when you didn't say anything I knew you were going to scare me. Then I just waited until I coul__d hear you breathing." she__ smirked._

_"You really are something__." he said kissing her softly. S__he__ smiled._

_"So, how are you?" she asked._

_He__ sighed, "I'm ok. __You?"_

_"I'm ok too." she__ said softly. They sat in silence f__or a few moments until she__ burst out,_

_"Oh__, I'm going to miss you so much! I don't think I can go 4 weeks 3 days 5 hours and-"_

_"46 minutes without you." he__ finished for her._

_"Yeah." she__ sighed trying to hide the sadness in her eyes._

_"Hey, listen, I know it's going to be hard, but I'll call you every day. I promise."_

_"Promise?"_

_"Here's my promise" he__ said going behind her and lifting his arms up to put a__ necklace on her neck. She__ looked down at the necklace that was now around her, and gasped. It was so beautiful. It was a heart made of alternating rubies and diamonds. Tears filled her eyes._

_"Hey, what's wrong? If you don't like it I can take it back and y__ou can pick out a new one." he__ said worried as to why she was crying._

_"No, no__, it's so beautiful, you shouldn't have."_

_"But I wanted to, whenever you feel sad, or lonely, or afraid, now you know that I am always with y__ou, no matter where it am." he__ said genuinely wiping the tears off of __her__ cheeks._

_"I love you__." She said softly._

_"I love__ you too baby." he__ said kissing her._

_End Flashback_

Marie gasped as her hand flew up to the necklace that hung around her neck.

"It's my necklace" she said.

The man nodded.

"Was I thinking about me? Who was the boy? Was he my boyfriend? What's his name?" the questions flew out of her mouth.

"Woah calm down, you need to figure that out for yourself" he said calmly.

Marie sighed, "But I can't, I'm not good enough"

"Yes you are, you can do it" the man said confidently

_Flashback_

_She took a large gulp of her coffee, which was basically what she had been surviving off of for the past week. _

_There was only 1 day__ left until winter break wh__ich also meant there were only 3__ days left until Christmas and she had more work than she could __handle. There were countless essays and projects to be done and not to mention all the upcoming tests she had__ to study for_

_She glanced at the clock_

_2__:02am_

_She sighed and got back to studying. This wasn't unusual for her this week. Most nights she got only 2 or 3 hours of sleep. _

_Just then, she heard the lock on her balcony door click. _

_She froze, was someone breaking in? She heard the door open and she turned around only to see Troy Bolton standing in the doorway. S__he let out a sigh of relief,_

_"Troy you scared me" _

_"I'm sorry" he replied closing the door and moving closer to her__. B__y this time__ she__ had turned back to her books and was continuing to study._

_"What are __you doing up at 2__ in the morning?" he asked softly. _

_"What you'__re doing here at 2__ in the morning?" she replied quickly, not taking her eyes of the book. _

_"Baby__…" Troy said slowly, pulling a chair up to the desk next to her. She looked up at him,_

_"I'm studying" she said simply before looking back at her work._

_"I think you've studied enough" Troy tried to convince her._

_"No, no, I don't know this, I've got to learn it" she replied frantically._

_"But, you've been staying up all night studying all week" Troy reasoned. _

_"Not all night" she clarified. _

_"Getting 2 hours of sleep does not count as a night's sleep." He said._

_"Some nights I get 3" she reminded him. Troy sighed._

_"I'm worried about you" he confessed__ softly. Her heard snapped up, and she looked confused._

_"You're putting too much strain on yourself." He continued. "You know all this stuff, you know you do"_

_"No, I don't Troy! I've only been studying this for an hour and before that I had to finish my essays and projects and study for my __French__ test. Saturday is Christmas Eve Troy! I still have to finish my Christmas shopping, which I have to do this afternoon and then__ on Saturday I have to help my mom decorate the house. I have to finish doing this" she explained. _

_"No what you need is to go to sleep" Troy said. "You know all this Chemistry stuff like the back of your hand, your projects __are__ amazing and all your essays are perfect. You just need to sleep, and stop living on this" Troy said picking up her coffee. "This and whatever you have at lunch is all you've eating for the past couple days, because I doubt you're eating at home" _

_"I don't have time to eat" she said. _

_"But you need to MAKE time to eat! You need to start thinking about yourself and go to bed" Troy said closing he__r chemistry book and keeping his__ hand on the cover ensuring it stayed closed._

_"I can't stop Troy" she exclaimed trying to pry Troy's hand off o__f the book. Troy took her hands__ in his and looked directly at her,_

_"Listen to __me,__ you know this better than that book knows it__. You need to go to sleep" he said sternly_

_"I'm not tired" she replied. _

_"Babe you were asleep when I walked into hom__eroom this-I mean yesterday__ morning.__" He reminded her._

_She shook her head,_

_"I wasn't asleep I was just…just…resting my eyes" she tried to argue. Troy laughed,_

_"Come on" he said__. Then in one swift movement he picked her up bridal style and carried her over to her bed. Gently, he placed her in the bed and drew the covers up over her. _

_"Sleep well" he whispered kissing her forehead. She smiled and moved over in her bed._

_"What are you doing?" Troy asked. _

_"You came all the way over here at 2 in the __morning,__ there is no way I'm letting you leave." She smiled. Troy grinned and climbed into the bed with her. She snuggled close to him and closed her eyes._

_"Thank you Troy" she whispered. _

_"For what?"_

_"For always being there for me" _

_"I'm always here and I always will be" Troy whispered back_

_End Flashback_

"Troy" Marie whispered "The boy was Troy" she said. Marie's guardian angel nodded.

"Very good, you remember him" he said.

"He was so good to that girl, but the girl, who was the girl?" Marie asked.

"I told you, you have to figure that out yourself" he said calmly.

Marie reached up to her necklace and closed her eyes, gripping the necklace tightly.

_Flashback_

_A young woman sat in the corner of a New Year's Eve party reading a book. She wasn't like most girls who would rather be grinding with some random guy; she was content to sit in the corner reading. _

_Suddenly a bright light shone in her eyes. The crowd looked at her and a man came up to her __helping her up onto a…stage. _

_"They want me sing? __On this stage?__ In front of people?" she thought. Nervously she stepped onto the stage and looked over noticing there was a boy on the stage too, he looked just as nervous as she did. _

_"Hey, you know what, someday, someday you guys might thank me for this……….or not" the M.C said handing the boy a microphone. _

_She wrapped her arms around herself, wishing she could disappear._

_The music started to play and the boy began to sing unsurely,_

_**Living in my own world**_

_**Didn't**__** understand**_

_**That anything could happen**_

_****__**When you take a chance**_

_She took a deep breath and began to sing, _

_**I never believed in **_

_****__****__**What**__** I couldn't see **_

_****__**I never opened my**__** heart**_

_****____****__**Ohhhh**_

___****____**To all the possibilities **_

_____****__****__**I know **_

_____****__**That something has changed **_

**_Never felt this way _**

_She kept stealing glances at the boy singing with her and he was doing the same_

**_And right here tonight _**

**_This could be _**

_She was gaining confidence as she sang the words and finally the pair managed to make eye contact without looking away. _

**_The start of something new _**

**_It feels so right _**

**_To be here with you _**

**_And now, looking in your eyes _**

**_I feel in my heart _**

**_I feel in my heart _**

**_The start of something new_**

_The boy took off his jacket and continued to sing,_

**_Now who'd ever thought that _**

**_We'd both be here tonight _**

**_The world looks so much brighter _**

**_Brighter, brighter _**

**_With you by my side _**

**_By my side_**

_They were both beginning to enjoy themselves. This boy had some way of captivating her. He made her feel something she had never felt before._

**_I know _**

**_That something has changed _**

**_Never felt this way _**

**_I know it for real_**

**_This could be _**

**_The start of something new _**

**_It feels so right _**

**_To be here with you _**

**_And now, looking in your eyes _**

**_I feel in my heart _**

**_The start of something new _**

_She laughed as the boy began bending down with the microphone stand as he sang,_

**_I never knew That it could happen to me_**

**_Til it happened to me_**

**_Ohhh yeah_**

_Finally she took her microphone out of its stand and began singing confidently,_

**_I didn't know it before _**

**_But now it's easy to see _**

**_Ohhhhh_**

**_It's the start of something new _**

**_It feels so right _**

**_To be here with you_**

**_Ohhhh_**

_The boy started moving closer to her_

**_And now, looking in your eyes _**

**_I feel in my heart_**

_He was getting close, too close; she had never experienced anything like this so she started backing up and ended up falling off the stage. Luckily the audience caught her and pushed her back on._

**_That it's the start of something new_**

_Thankfully the boy didn't mind and kept singing and smiling at her_

**_It feels so right to be here with you_**

**_Ohhhh_**

**_And now looking in your eyes _**

**_Feel in my heart _**

**_The start of something new _**

**_The start of something new _**

**_The start of something new_**

_The pair stared at each other for a few seconds as the crowd cheered wildly._

_The boy broke the silence and stuck out his hand to introduce himself,_

_"Troy" he said._

_"Gabriella" she replied._

_End Flashback_

By this time Marie had tears in her eyes,

"I remember" she said quietly. "I remember, I was the girl in all of the flashbacks, it was me"

"I told you could do it mi angelita" Gabriella's guardian angel said.

She stared at the man for a few seconds, looking him over carefully until,

_Flashback_

_Gabriella walked into school that day wishing she could be at home, in her bed. Not because she was tired, but because she just wanted to cry. Today was the day her father had been killed by a drunk driver exactly 8 years ago. She missed him every day, but it was on this day that her heart ached for another chance to be with him. _

_She made her way to her locker and opened it slowly, gathering the books she need. She then found her way to her homeroom class. _

_She slid into her seat and stared blankly into space. It was then that Troy and the rest of the gang entered Mrs. Darbus's room. They all gathered around Gabriella. _

_"Hey babe" Troy greeted kissing her cheek softly. Gabriella smiled weakly. Troy looked at her confused as to whyshe wasn't speaking._

_"You ok?" he asked. Gabriella nodded her head slowly._

_"Gabs?" Chad asked. Gabriella faked a smile._

_Before Troy or anyone else in the gang could say anything the bell rang Mrs. Darbus began the class. _

_Later that day during free period Gabriella was walking down the hallway and as she turned the corner Troy and his dad were talking. Gabriella stopped dead in her tracks and stared at the pair. _

_"Papi" she whispered. God she missed him so much, she wished more than anything in the world he could still be here with her. Gabriella felt wet tears fall down her cheeks and she closed her eyes tightly to try and prevent more from falling._

_"Gabi? Gabriella?" Troy's voice suddenly said. Gabriella opened her teary eyes and saw Troy's looking straight back at her. _

_"I…I…" she stuttered. _

_"It's today isn't it?" Troy said softly. "Today's the day your father died"_

_"He never came home one night. At first my mom and I just thought he had gotten held up at work or something." Gabriella said shakily. "So I went to bed and the next morning I woke up and went downstairs and my mom…she was crying. When I asked her why she was crying, she…she told me that h..he had been in a car accident. I…I asked her if he was ok and she…she just shook her head" Gabriella broke down sobbing. Thankfully Troy caught her in his arms and let her cry._

_"Shhhh" he soothed rubbing her back gently. _

_"It was the stupid drunk driver!" she cried. "Promise me you won't ever drink and drive!"_

_"Gabi I would-" Troy began_

_"Just promise me!" she sobbed._

_"I promise, I promise" Troy assured her. _

_"Thank you" Gabriella said, her voice getting soft again. "If it wasn't for that drunk driver I would still be my papi'sangelita." _

_"Hey" Troy said softly putting his fingers under Gabriella's chin so she was looking at him directly. "I think and I bet your father thinks so too that no matter what happens you will always be his angelita."_

_"You think so" Gabriella said tears still falling._

_"I know so" Troy replied wiping Gabriella's tears away._

_End Flashback_

"Papi" Gabriella said, her voice cracking as tears began pouring out of her eyes. He nodded. Gabriella ran towards him and hugged him tightly sobbing into his chest.

"I missed you" she said finally after her tears had subsided.

"I missed you too" Mr. Montez replied. "But you know Troy was right, you will always be mi angelita" Gabriella smiled widely.

"Troy's right about a lot of things" she said.

"I know he is" Mr. Montez said.

"You helped bring him to me, didn't you?"

"I couldn't let my little girl end up with a scumbag." He answered.

"Papi, you hurt him, why did you take me away from him?" Gabriella asked.

"I didn't take you away from him, Brian and Jeff did. I can't control others actions, I can only help you." He explained.

"What about now, Papi, Troy and I, we were in a car crash, can you make sure he's ok?" Gabriella begged.

Mr. Montez shook his head. "I can't, I'm sorry."

"But…but I need him, I…I told him to stay away from me…god, I bet he hates me, I must of hurt him so bad." She cried.

"You did hurt him, but you can mend his heart, he'll forgive you, he loves you." Mr. Montez said.

"What if he doesn't make it?" Gabriella asked quietly.

"Troy's strong" Mr. Montez said. "Now, you have a choice to make, you can stay here or you can go back."

"Can you come back with me?" Gabriella asked.

"No, I didn't get to make a choice. Gabi, you're lucky you have the choice to live, to be with the ones you love and the ones who love you. It's going to be hard, but the people who love you will always be there for you."

"Thank you." Gabriella said hugging him tightly. "I love you" she whispered.

"I love you too mi angelita, but it's time to say goodbye. Please remember I'm always here for you, whenever you need me" he said.

He kissed her gently on the forehead and slowly began moving away. Gabriella held her hand over her heart as she watched her father, her guardian angel disappear through a wall. Tears fell softly as she climbed back into the bed. She closed her eyes and clung onto her necklace tightly.

**A/N: ****Sooo****…what do you think? Gosh, I don't know if I should post it, should I? (****well**** if you're reading this I obviously have) Ok, so please tell me what you think and if you really hate it, I rewrite it ****another way, I have another option in my head, it's just this one seemed more…I don't know I just kind of liked it better. OMG I just looked at the word count! Over 3,000 words and ****it's**** 13 pages, wow, I didn't think it would be that long! Again, sorry for the long wait, I planned to post it last night, but…I had to baby-sit 3 boys ages 5****,7****, and 8 and it was…interesting. So after they went to bed I was typing and then one of them came down and said they couldn't sleep, so I had to deal with that. By the time I got back to typing I only had an hour left until the parents got home. So yeah, please, please review, I want your HONEST opinion. Tell me what parts you liked and what parts you didn't like, please! Thanks so much for reading!!!**

**Ok so I just reread it and remembered I wanted to make sure you got these things, First that Mr. Montez is Gabriella's guardian angel. Secondly, ****She**** remembered!!!(****this**** time for real!) ****that's**** why I started calling her Gabriella instead of Marie. And lastly in the flashbacks before she remembered I didn't use any names on purpose. I did that to show that she hadn't remembered and she didn't know who she was. Thanks so much for reading!!!! Please review!!**


	19. Waking Up

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters. **

**A/N: I owe a HUGE thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! Your comments meant so much to me! You have no idea how much I love reviews! I love it when I come home from school and I have a ton of reviews to read. You guys always make me laugh and smile as I'm reading! So from the bottom of my heart thank you so much for every single review! Anyway, I'll just shut up and get on with the story. Enjoy…**

_Last Time…_

_"No, I didn't get to make a choice. Gabi, you're lucky you have the choice to live, to be with the ones you love and the ones who love you. It's going to be hard, but the people who love you will always be there for you." _

_"Thank you." Gabriella said hugging him tightly. "I love you" she whispered. _

_"I love you too mi __angelita__, but it's time to say goodbye. Please remember I'm always here for you, whenever you need me" he said._

_He kissed her gently on the forehead and slowly began moving away. Gabriella held her hand over her heart as she watched her father, her guardian __angel disappear__ through a wall. Tears fell softly as she climbed back into the bed. She closed her eyes and clung onto her necklace tightly._

**Chapter Eighteen**

Waking Up

Very slowly Gabriella's eyes opened. She squinted after being blinded by the bright light. Soon, her eyes adjusted and she looked around the room.

She was in a hospital room, by the looks of it. The walls were a supposedly cheery yellow, although they looked rather uninspiring to her. She was lying in a bed with light blue sheets covering her. Her right her had an IV going it and was bandaged up, just like her other arm. Bringing her hand up to her face she could feel a bandage wrapped around her head.

Her attempt to sit up failed and a machine beside her began beeping. Gabriella was confused, she didn't feel like there was anything going wrong with her, yet this machine was beeping.

A few nurses rushed in at the sound of the machine.

"I don't understand why these machines went off, I just tried to sit up" Gabriella explained to the nurses.

"That's what they're supposed to do. They're there to make sure you don't get out of bed." One of them explained, as she began to check Gabriella over.

"I've paged the doctor he should be here soon" the other nurse said.

"Um, how long have I been asleep?" Gabriella asked.

"Well you got here around 3 and it's almost midnight so, about 9 hours" the nurse said just as the doctor walked in.

"Good evening ladies" the doctor greeted. "My name is Dr. Patterson" he introduced as he pulled a chair up beside Gabriella's bed.

"I'm going to ask you a few questions, ok?" he said. Gabriella nodded.

"Do you remember how this happened?"

"I was in a car accident" Gabriella said simply.

"Good, now how old are you?"

"23" she answered.

"Where do you live?"

"Albuquerque, New Mexico"

"Do you have medical conditions?" he asked.

"Well, I do have asthma" she answered.

"So far so you've gotten them all correct, one last question, what's your name?"

"Well, my real name is Gabriella Montez, but 5 years ago I was in another car crash and I ended up with this guy, who convinced me my name was Marie." She explained.

"So I've heard, your friends and mother explained that to me" Dr. Patterson said.

"Are they here?" Gabriella asked.

"No, I'm sorry they left a few hours ago, but don't blame them, I convinced them to leave, telling them they needed to sleep. I'm sure they'll be here bright an early in the morning." He assured her.

"Oh" she said sadly.

"Miss Montez, the police wanted to ask you some questions about your disappearance 5 years ago. You are physically stable so if you feel up to it, I'll call them and they'll ask you the questions. Or if you want to wait, that's fine too"

"Um, I have nothing better to do, I'll do it now" she decided.

"Ok, I'll call them." Dr. Patterson said. "The nurses will be in to check on you every hour, if you need them just press the red button ok?"

"Ok, thank you"

"You're very welcome" he replied exiting the room, leaving Gabriella on her own.

She sighed, knowing she should have asked him if Troy was ok. Of course she wanted to know if he was alright, but the thought of him not being ok scared her. She wasn't ready to hear the news if he wasn't. Or what if he lost his memory? She wasn't as strong as he was, she wouldn't be able to survive, without him. How could she have forgotten him? He was her everything, he must have gone insane, not knowing where she was. She let out another sigh.

"That was quite some sigh Miss. Montez" an officer said taking Gabriella by surprise as he entered the room.

"Oh, I was just thinking" Gabriella explained.

"Well, I'm glad to see you're alive Miss. Montez, you've been missed. I'm Officer Heidi by the way." He introduced himself pulling a chair up beside Gabriella's bed.

"It's nice to meet you, but um, you can call me Gabriella, when you say Miss. Montez you sound like one of my old teachers"

Officer Heidi laughed, "I will. But in all seriousness, are you sure you feel up to this?"

Gabriella nodded, she might as well get it over and done with, "Yeah I'm fine"

"Ok, well I worked on your case 5 years ago after you disappeared. From what I know the night you went missing you had just baby sat for Mr. and Mrs. Davidson?" he asked.

"That's right"

"So what happened after that?" he asked.

"Well, I was on my way home and suddenly I saw bright headlights coming towards me. I tried to swerve out of the way, but the car swerved too so it was still coming at me, then the car impacted my car and…I hit my head on the steering and then it went back" Gabriella explained softly.

"Did you see who was driving the car?" Officer Heidi asked.

"No" she said quietly.

"So, what happened when you woke up?" he asked.

"I was in an apartment; I couldn't remember where I was or who was or anything about anything. Then this man came into the room" Gabriella paused and closed her eyes taking a deep breath.

"Are you ok?" Officer Heidi asked.

"Yeah, sorry, this man into the room and he explained that I had been in a car accident and that I was his girlfriend. He told me that my mother and father were dead and I had no relatives and he was everything to me, he basically filled me in on my supposed life." She explained quietly feeling ashamed of herself for being so gullible.

"Do you know who the man was?"

"Jeff Sander" she said softly.

"And where is he now?"

"He was arrested" Gabriella explained.

"Why?" Officer Heidi asked slowly. Gabriella closed her eyes, refusing to let the tears caused by painful memories fall.

"He abused me" she said quietly, tears began falling freely from her eyes as she broke down in sobs.

"I…it's m…m…my fault….though…I…I should….have remembered" she sobbed hysterically. The monitors around her started beeping loudly as nurses rushed in. Officer Heidi backed away slowly.

"Honey, you have to calm down" one of the nurses said calmly, taking Gabriella's hand.

However Gabriella couldn't calm down, tears kept cascading down her face, as she shook with each sob she let out.

How could she have been stupid? How could she have believed every word Jeff had said? How could she have not remembered Troy? He had been there for her whenever she needed him, and this was how she repaid him? She forgot him. She hurt him. It must have been awful for him. If Troy had disappeared Gabriella would have gone insane, not knowing where he was, or if she would ever see him again.

Tears fell faster as the thoughts rushed through Gabriella's mind.

"Sweetie, you need to take a deep breath and think about something or someone that will calm you down."

Gabriella closed her eyes tightly trying to stop the tears.

_Flashback_

_Gabriella ran down the aisle of the auditorium and up onto the stage, joining Troy, Ms. Darbus, Sharpay and Ryan on it._

_"Ms. Darbus please, please" She begged._

_"Rules are rules" Ms. Darbus insisted. The auditorium began filling up with students from the basketball game and Sharpay walked over to Ms. Darbus,_

_"We'll be happy to do it again for our fellow students Ms. Darbus"__ she smiled proudly._

_"I don't know what's going on here__.."__ Ms. Darbus said slowly, obviously very confused as to why the auditorium was filling up with people "But in any event it's far too late and we have not got a pianist"_

_"Well that's show biz" Ryan said._

_"We'll sing without a piano" Troy suggested desperately just as Kelsi came running up behind him._

_"Oh no you won't pianist here Ms. Darbus"__ Kelsi said firmly. Sharpay glared at Kelsi,_

_"You really don't want to do that" she said._

_Kelsi walked up to her, "Oh yes, I really do" she said and then walked proudly to the piano "Ready on stage" Sharpay was shocked, she gasped and turned back to stand next to her brother._

_"Now that's show biz" Ms. Darbus said walking to audience to take her seat. Ryan and Sharpay__'s__ mouths hung open and Sharpay stormed off the stage, Ryan in tow. _

_Troy handed a microphone to Gabriella. She looked out nervously into the audience. She hadn't expected to do it in front of this many people. She could feel her throat closing up, as she became more and more nervous._

_Kelsi began playing the piano, but when it was Gabriella's turn to start singing she opened her mouth but nothing came out, she was too nervous and scared. _

_Troy came over to her,_

_"I can't do it Troy, not with all these people staring at me" she said beginning to turn to walk off the s__tage. Troy grabbed her hand, making her look at him,_

_"Hey, hey, hey look at me, right at me, __right__ at__ me like the first time we sang together. Remember?" he whispered gently. "Like kindergarten" _

_The music began to play again, and this time Troy started to sing first looking straight into Gabriella's eyes,_

_**We're **__**soarin**__**', **____**flyin**__**'**_

___****__****__**There's not a star in heaven **_

**_That we can't reach_**

_Gabriella took a deep breath and focused on Troy, this incredible strength came over her and she began to sing_

**_If we're trying _**

**_So we're breaking free _**

_The pair intertwined their fingers as Troy sang_

**_You know the world can see us _**

**_In a way that's different than who we are_**

_They locked eyes the entire time they were singing_

**_Creating space between us_**

**_'Til we're separate hearts_**

**_But your faith it gives me strength_**

**_Strength to believe_**

_End Flashback_

He had calmed her down; he had given her the strength to sing. She closed her eyes and pictured him talking to her. Her breathing began to become normal again and the tears subsided.

The nurse was rubbing her hand gently, in an effort to calm her, but Gabriella pretending it was Troy, rubbing her hand and whispering words of encouragement.

Finally she calmed down.

"I think you should just go to sleep, have a bit of rest. Maybe we'll try talking to the police officers some other time" the nurse said. Gabriella nodded.

Soon, everyone had left the room and it was just Gabriella. She closed her eyes and placed her hand over her heart, which happened to be where her necklace lay.

"You're every line, you're every word, you're everything" Gabriella sang softly to herself, before falling asleep.

**A/N: Ok I hated the way I ended it. I wanted to continue on and combine the next chapter with this one, but I didn't expect this part to be so long, so I stopped here. I hope you liked it, please review!**


	20. Need

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters. **

**A/N: I know you guys don't want to read a big long author's note, you just want to know what happened to Troy, so I'll just thank you for the reviews and get on with it,**

_Last Time…_

_Soon, everyone had left the room and it was just Gabriella. She closed her eyes and placed her hand over her heart, which happened to be where her necklace lay. _

_"__You're every line, you're every word, __you're__ everything" Gabriella sang softly to herself, before falling asleep._

**Chapter Nineteen**

Need

Gabriella woke up to the feeling of blood being drawn from her arm for the 5th night that morning. The nurse, who Gabriella had learned was named Lisa smiled at her and said,

"Good morning Gabriella"

"Morning, Lisa." Gabriella replied. Lisa took the vile of blood she had just drawn and labeled it before saying,

"There are some people here to see you. Would you like me to send them in?" Gabriella smiled widely and nodded quickly.

"Ok they'll be in a moment." Lisa said exiting the room. Gabriella felt tears in her eyes already. She let out a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying to compose herself.

She heard the door open slowly, and her mother appeared in the door way. Mother and daughter locked eyes as tears began falling down both their cheeks.

"Mom" Gabriella whispered through her tears. Upon hearing her daughter's voice Mrs. Montez advanced towards the bed Gabriella was laying in and engulfed her is a hug. Gabriella wrapped her arms around her mother's neck sobbed into her shoulder.

"Mom, I'm sorry, I'm sorry" Gabriella whispered still crying. Mrs. Montez broke the hug and looked at her daughter and spoke softly, stroking her hair,

"Gabi, you have nothing to be sorry about. All that matters now is that you're here and you're safe."

"I love you Mom" Gabriella said.

"I love you too, I missed you" She replied.

"I'm glad I remembered" Gabriella said.

"Me too Mija, me too" Mrs. Montez replied softly. "And I know a lot of other people missed you too. Would you like to see them?"

"Yeah" Gabriella said softly.

"I thought so, I'll go get them. They've been very worried you know" Mrs. Montez added before she left the room. Gabriella wiped the tears from her face, knowing full well a fresh batch was going to fall.

Gabriella heard loud mumbling outside the door, she smiled knowing that her friends were arguing over who was going to go in first. The door opened and Sharpay was the first to enter,

"GABRIELLA!" Sharpay shrieked running up to her and hugging her tightly. Gabriella smiled and hugged Sharpay back.

"You look amazing, Sharpay, just as sparkly as ever" Gabriella smiled as Sharpay smiled, light tears glistening in her eyes. Sharpay stepped away letting Taylor hug Gabriella.

"Tay, I'm sorry about what Jeff did to Chris, I really am." Gabriella whispered.

"Gabs, no, it's fine, Chris is fine. I'm just glad you're ok, I missed you so much" Taylor insisted.

"G to A to B to S! Gabs!" Chad rapped excitedly, hugging Gabriella.

"Hi Chad. The afro still looks great" She commented, watching Chad grin.

Kelsi hugged Gabriella next,

"Gabriella, I'm so sorry Brian attacked you, I should have gotten there faster"

"No, Kelsi, it's my fault not yours. It's just good to see you again." Gabriella assured her. Kelsi smiled, knowing not to push the Brian topic any further and backed away to let her husband hug Gabriella.

"It's good to have you back Gabs" Jason said.

"It's good to be back" she replied softly. Finally Zeke hugged Gabriella,

"I don't know if I told you this, but that Ella Éclair was the best éclair I've ever had" she said.

"Well, the best éclairs are names after the best people." Zeke replied.

"You named it after me?" Gabriella asked shocked. Zeke nodded,

"You were missed Gabriella, more than you can imagine." He said looking out into the group, who had formed a circle around the bed, for reassurance.

"Yeah, it wasn't the same without you, we weren't the same without you, especially Troy" Chad said.

Gabriella stopped breathing for a moment. Troy. Her heart skipped a beat, what if he wasn't ok? Gabriella was scared, scared of finding out the truth. Her friends sensed the sudden change in Gabriella's behavior.

"Are you alright?" Taylor asked gently.

"Yeah, I'm fine" Gabriella assured them.

"Are you sure because after Chad said…" Sharpay began but was cut off by three children coming running into the room. They slammed the door shut behind them and faced the door breathing heavily.

"Phew, dat was a close one" Sarina panted.

"I know tell me about it, that nurse almost caughted us." Allie laughed.

"Well, it was obiously all me who figured out where to go" Chris stated proudly. The girls turned to look at him,

"Um, I don't think so" Sarina said putting her hands on her hips.

"Yeah, it was a team effort" Allie said. "We all had to sneak past the granny who was at the desk in da playroom."

"Dat was the easy part" Chris reminded her.

"Well, this is going to be the hard part, explaining to us why you ran out of the playroom." Taylor said interrupting the children's conversation. The three children looked up at their parents standing in the room.

"Auntie Taylor, it was all Chris's fault" Sarina explained innocently.

"Don't think you're getting off that easily" Sharpay scolded her daughter "I saw that hand on your hip."

"It was for dramatic effect?" Sarina added trying to convince her mother.

"I tried that so many times on my mother and you know, it failed every time, so don't think you're getting away with that so easily." Sharpay explained. Chris and Allie smirked.

"Chris wipe that smirk off your face." Taylor told him sharply. Allie smirked even more.

"Allison, you too" Kelsi said.

The three children stood in a line and tried smiling sweetly, in hopes that it would make their parents less angry at them.

Zeke chuckled, "Guys, those sweet smiles aren't going to help you. What's going to help you is an explanation."

"We weren't allowed to play any instruments" Allie said.

"Sweetie, they do that so the people in the hospital can sleep." Jason explained.

"But the lady in the playroom was a meanie" Sarina explained.

"That doesn't mean you can leave the playroom." Sharpay said.

"We wanted to see the patients in the hospital." Chris said smartly.

"Oh you did, did you? Well who did you want to see?" Taylor responded.

Chris looked around the room, to try and see who was behind the adults. His eyes landed on Marie.

"MARIE!" he exclaimed, running over to Gabriella's bed. "We came to see Marie, right guys?"

"Yeah!" Allie and Sarina exclaimed, also running towards Gabriella.

Gabriella smiled; these children were exactly like their parents. Chris had Taylor's intelligence and cleverness, mixed with Chad's humor and love for basketball. Sarina was almost exactly like Sharpay, all the same mannerisms and love for drama. Then there was Allie, who although she inherited some of her shyness from both Jason and Kelsi, she was just as sweet as both of them.

But now she didn't know what to say, how she supposed to explain memory loss to these kids.

"H..hi" she said weakly.

"Guys, we are going to momentarily overlook the fact you left the playroom so that we can explain this to you guys." Taylor began.

"Do you remember Allie, that time you came into work with me and you saw that picture on my desk?" Kelsi asked. Allie nodded,

"Do remember when you asked who was the girl laying on Uncle Troy's lap?"

"Yeah you said her name was Gabriella"

"That's right, well Marie's real name is Gabriela." Kelsi explained.

Allie, Chris and Sarina all looked extremely confused.

"When we were all in high school all of us were close friends. Gabriella disappeared one day and we never saw her again" Sharpay explained.

"Then one day when Auntie Taylor, Uncle Chad and Uncle Troy were in a restaurant they met her again." Zeke continued.

"Except, she thought her name was Marie" Chad finished.

"But why did she think that?" Allie asked.

"A long time ago I was in a different car crash and sometimes when you hit your head really hard, you forget who you are." Gabriella explained.

"But how come Mommy, Daddy, Auntie Kelsi, Uncle Jason, Auntie Taylor, Uncle Chad or Uncle Troy didn't help you remember?" Sarina asked.

"Because a very bad man took me away and told me all the wrong things" Gabriella explained quietly.

"Was dat the friend, who's not really your friend, who hurt you?" Chris asked. Gabriella nodded, small tears forming in her eyes.

"But how did you end up here?" Sarina asked.

"I…I was in another car accident" Gabriella answered softly.

"Oh Mommy told me about dat, it was the one Uncle Troy was in too, she said that she saw it from behind, another car was coming head on towards them and then the car Uncle Troy was in turned and hit the oncoming car on the side." Allie explained.

Gabriella couldn't breathe; Troy had swerved the car so it hit _him_ square on. He had done that for her, after she had told him to stay away from her. He came back for her even after she hadn't believed him.

What if he wasn't ok? What if he didn't make it? What if she never got to tell him how much she loved him? How sorry she was. How much she needed him.

Her breaths became short as she became more and more afraid. She needed him, she couldn't lose him. She felt tears beginning to fall down her face.

"Gabs?" Chad said.

"Gabi?" Zeke asked nervously. Gabriella, as much as she wanted to answer, she couldn't, she was too scared.

"Gabriella!" Sharpay shrieked.

"What's happening?" Taylor asked hysterically as she watched her friend sob hysterically.

"I don't know. What do we do?" Jason asked looking around the group.

"Guys you take the kids outside, Taylor, Kelsi and I will deal with this" Sharpay said. The three men nodded and quickly escorted the children outside.

"Think. What made her become like this?" Taylor said. The group looked at each other whilst thinking about what could have caused Gabriella to break down. Suddenly Kelsi spoke up,

"Troy! It has to be him. Allie was talking about the car accident; I bet she's scared, I bet she doesn't know what happened."

"That's it!" Taylor exclaimed but her face quickly turned pale, "But Troy's still unconscious. What are we supposed to tell her?" she whispered, not wanting Gabriella to her. The three went back to thinking.

"Breaking Free!" Kelsi exclaimed "We should sing it to her"

"But won't that only make it worse?" Taylor pointed out.

"I don't know, but maybe it will trigger memories of Troy. He was the only one who could her calm her down." Kelsi said.

"I guess you're right, it's worth a try" Sharpay said. Together the group sang softly,

_We're __soarin__', __flyin__'_

_There's not a star in heaven _

_That we can't reach_

At the sound of the words Gabriella cherished, she caught her breath.

_If we're trying _

_So we're breaking free_

She looked around at her friends, tears still flowing down her face. They were so good to her. Her eyes closed gently, in an effort to stop the tears. Her breathing became steady as she very softly began to sing with her friends.

_You know the world can see us _

_In a way that's different than who we are_

The entire group smiled and looked at Gabriella encouragingly. Kelsi's idea was working.

_Creating space between us_

_'Til__ we're separate hearts_

Taylor, Sharpay and Kelsi stopped singing, so they could let Gabriella sing the last lines of the song.

_But your faith it gives me strength_

_Strength to believe_

Gabriella smiled at her friends,

"Thank you" she said softly.

"You're welcome" Kelsi answered. Gabriella looked away from her friends; they were a constant reminder off the pain and guilt she felt.

"Gabi…" Taylor said softly. "Gabi what's wrong?" she asked. Gabriella looked at her friends, debating whether or not to confess her true feelings.

"Gabriella, is it about Troy?" Sharpay asked gently. Her friends knew. But who was she kidding they knew everything about her. Gabriella looked back up at her friends and broke. Tears cascaded down her face as she sobbed,

"I'm scared"

"Scared of what?" Kelsi asked.

"I'm scared of knowing the truth, I'm scared of what will happen, I'm scared of what I've done, I'm scared of how he'll react but most of all I'm…" Gabriella paused her voice cracking "I'm scared of losing him" She broke down again tears flowing out of her eyes.

The girls stayed silent, unsure of how to comfort their distraught friend.

"I've caused him so much pain!" Gabriella cried. "I didn't remember him! How could I have done that to him?"

"Gabriella it wasn't your fault" Kelsi spoke up.

"He turned the car! For me!" She bawled. "After I didn't remember him! After I left him!"

"Gabriella, he turned that car because he loves you so damn much. He refused to believe that you were dead, when everyone else had given up. Sure it hurt him that you couldn't remember him, but it hurt him _more _to know how you had been living. I hadn't seen him so happy since the day you were taken because you know what he was so glad that you were ok. He was so glad just to be able to see you again." Taylor explained. Gabriella looked up at Taylor with tears in her eyes. She took a deep breath and very calmly said,

"I missed him. I didn't know it at the time, but I missed him. I always felt like there a part of me missing. I could never figure it out. But it was him, his love, my love for him that was missing."

Gabriella spoke very quietly, a few tears leaking out of her eyes, "I just want to know he's ok, please tell me what happened to him."

"Well after your car collided with the other man's car, I immediately dialed 911. After that I ran to your car and you were both unconscious" Kelsi explained. "Soon, the ambulance came and I called everyone. We waited at the hospital for hours. Then finally the doctors came out and told us you had slipped into a coma. Then they told us Troy had popped a lung and they were unable to save it. So they had to perform an emergency lung transplant. They told us we should go home and get a good night's sleep then come back in the morning. So we did that. The doctors told us you had woken up and regained your memory. Then we asked about Troy and they said the surgery was successful however Troy was still unconscious."

Gabriella remained silent, staring ahead into space.

"Gabriella?" Sharpay asked.

Gabriella continued to remain silent.

"Gabi?" Taylor asked.

"I want to see him" Gabriella said suddenly.

"I don't think…" Kelsi began.

"No, I _need _to see him" She said sternly beginning to get out of the bed. This caused the machines to beep loudly. Nurses came running in and tried to get her to get back into the bed.

"Gabriella, honey you need to get back into bed." Lisa said calmly.

"No, please! I have to see him" Gabriella begged desperately.

"Honey, you're not strong enough. You need to recover more." Lisa explained. Gabriella shook her head violently,

"No! I _need_ to see him!" she cried.

"Who do you need to see?" Lisa asked.

"Troy! I _need _him"

"Mr. Bolton? You can see him tomorrow maybe if you're strong enough" Lisa explained.

"No! I need him NOW! I've gone too long without seeing him and remembering that he's Troy Bolton, my Troy!" She cried.

"Miss Montez, please calm down. It's going to be ok" Doctor Patterson assured her as he entered the room.

"No no no no no" Gabriella repeated shaking her head. Dr. Patterson looked to Kelsi, Taylor and Sharpay for help.

"Gabriella, please listen to us, what would Troy say?" Sharpay said.

"He would tell me to come see him" Gabriella answered still trying to get out of the bed. Sharpay shook her head,

"What about that time you were sick and he had a basketball game, what did he say?" Gabriella paused to think for a while, then slowly she said,

"He said, you stay in this bed and go to sleep. I'll play better knowing you're safe in your bed rather than worrying about you in the stands. If I were sick would you want me to come to your scholastic decathlon?" Gabriella said softly, lying back in her bed.

"MmmHmmm" Sharpay nodded pleased with her work.

"Ladies, why don't you leave Miss. Montez to rest for a while, I think she needs her sleep." Doctor Patterson said. The three women nodded and gave Gabriella a hug before leaving the room.

* * *

It was late, almost 11 and Gabriella was supposed to be asleep. The nurses and doctors all thought she was asleep, but Gabriella couldn't sleep. 

The only thoughts that flowed through her mind were about Troy. She needed him, she needed to see him, tell him how sorry she was, she couldn't take it anymore, she needed him. The fear had disappeared and now it was a need.

Throughout the day she had been examining the wires that connected the bed to the machine that beeped if she got out of bed. She discovered a small switch near the entrance of the wire into the machine. She figured all she had to do was press it and she would be able to get out of bed without making a sound.

Very slowly she reached her hand out until it was almost touching the button, but she couldn't reach. Frustrated she looked around her for something that could aid her. Her eyes fell on a straw in her glass of water, which sat on her bed-side table. Gabriella took the straw and outstretched her hand towards the button. This time with the help of the straw she was able to push it in.

The light next to the button went off and Gabriella smiled at her achievement. Slowly she sat up in her bed and swung her legs to the side. Carefully, she got out of the bed. She wheeled her IV towards the door and peered out the door, looking for anyone in the halls. Thankfully there was no one in the hallway.

She walked down the hallway to Troy's room, which she knew was only 3 doors to the right of hers (she had overhead Doctor Patterson talking about it). Finally she arrived; she took a deep breath and pushed open the door.

Gabriella gasped quietly at the sight. Troy had a tube going up his nose and bandages were covering his arms, chest and some on his head. His face had scars all over it and his eyes were closed gently.

She made her way over to him very slowly. Sitting on the bed she brought her hand up to his face and caressed his cheek. Tears began welling up in her eyes. She brought his rough hand up to her cheek and enjoyed the touch of his skin against hers.

"I know you would tell me not to be here and to be back in my room resting but I needed to see you. I know you would do the same thing." She whispered. "God, I missed you"

Feeling the need to be closer to him she lay down in his bed, snuggling as close to his body as she could get.

"Mmmm, I love you" she murmured softly, before drifting to sleep.

**A/N: So…Troy has made an appearance and just to clear up**** any confusion that may occur,**** Troy has had a lung transplant (which you can have, I looked it up online) but he is still unconscious.**** This chapter took forever to write and I almost ended it so many times, but then I decided to keep going. This seemed like a good spot to stop. I hope you liked it!!! Please review!**


	21. Right Now

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters. **

**A/N:**** Finally, ****I've**** finished my midterms, thank god! And it has been a long ride, I seriously learned the hist****ory of the world in one night, it**** was funny, because all through dinner I was just spraying out facts about various things, it was weird, ****my family was like oookkk, lol. So that's why it's taken so long for me to update. ****Anyway…I'm sure I've just bored you so I'll get on with it. Enjoy…**

_Last Time…_

_Gabriella gasped quietly at the sight. Troy had a tube going up his nose and bandages were covering his arms, chest and some on his head. His face had scars all over it and his eyes were closed gently. _

_She made her way over to him very slowly. Sitting on the bed she brought her hand up to his face and caressed his cheek. Tears began welling up in her eyes. She brought his rough hand up to her cheek and enjoyed the touch of his skin against hers._

_"I know you would tell me not to be here and to be back in my room resting but I needed to see you. I know you would do the same thing." She whispered. "God, I missed you" _

_Feeling the need to be closer to him she lay down in his bed, snuggling as close to his body as she could get. _

_"Mmmm, I love you" she murmured softly, before drifting to sleep._

**Chapter Twenty**

Right Now

Lisa walked into Gabriella's hospital room for her one o'clock blood withdrawal.

Her mouth dropped open when she realized the bed was empty. She blinked several times to make sure she wasn't seeing things, but in fact Gabriella Montez was not in her bed.

Lisa rushed out of the room frantically, unsure of what she should do. At almost the exact same time, Hilda, another nurse came rushing towards Lisa.

"Lisa, you've got to come see this!" Hilda exclaimed.

"But-" Lisa protested.

"No, buts, come with me" Hilda interrupted pulling Lisa down the hall. Hilda pulled Lisa into room 817.

"Why are we in Troy Bol-" Lisa began but stopped once she saw Gabriella and Troy in Troy's bed. She brought her hand up to her mouth, "Oh my" She whispered.

Gabriella had laced her hand in Troy's as she snuggled close to him with her hand with the IV placed gently on her collar bone. Her lips were curved slightly up forming a faint smile.

"I found them like this a few minutes ago" Hilda said.

"We should wake them" Lisa said.

"No, we can't do that. Look at them, you can't seriously want to break that up" Hilda argued.

"But, Dr. Patterson will throw a fit" Lisa protested.

"Who cares about Dr. Patterson? He can throw as many fits as he likes; we are not breaking this happiness up." Hilda said firmly. Lisa glanced at the couple laying peacefully in each other's presence, Hilda was right, she couldn't break their happiness up.

"Ok, we'll leave them for the night, but in the morning we have to get Gabriella back to her room" Lisa said.

"Deal"

The women shut off the lights in Troy's room and left the couple to continue in their peaceful slumber.

* * *

It was 6:03 when Doctor Patterson walked into the hospital. He was early, almost 2 hours early, but he felt like waking up early today, he wasn't really sure why, he just did.

He walked along the corridor humming to himself. As he passed the nurses' desk, at the beginning of corridor that led to Gabriella's room he greeted Hilda and Lisa happily,

"Good morning ladies"

"Good morning Dr. Patterson" they replied mindlessly, but as soon as they realized the name they had just uttered that looked at each other,

"Shit!" they whispered.

Scrambling to get around the desk the women rushed to get in front of Dr. Patterson.

"Dr. Patterson, hi…., um…." Lisa began clasping her hands together.

"You see…" Hilda continued.

"Ladies, would you care to explain to me, what is going on?" he asked calmly still moving towards Gabriella's room.

"Well, it's a long story actually" Hilda began.

"You see I was doing my 1 o'clock rounds and well…" Lisa paused as she got a strange, almost threatening look from Dr. Patterson "I realized that we should really get a better coffee machine. You know the coffee isn't that great." She lied.

"Lisa, what is going on, yesterday you were going on about how you loved the coffee here?" He asked.

"I don't remember saying anything like that" Lisa said.

"Hmm, if I didn't know any better I'd guess you're trying to hide something from me…" He began getting dangerously close to Gabriella's room "…like, that you've done something horribly wrong…" Dr. Patterson continued placing his hand on the door handle and turning it.

"Dr Patterson! Gabriella is…" Hilda cut in.

"Is what? Missi-" Dr. Patterson stopped mid sentence as he stared at the empty bed. Very slowly he turned around to face the women, sending them death glares.

"Where. Is. She." He asked slowly.

"Um…"

"Lisa, tell me" Dr. Patterson demanded growing impatient.

"She's in Troy Bolton's room" Lisa said quietly.

"WHAT? How did she get there?"

"I'm not sure exactly, I was doing my one o'clock rounds and she wasn't in her room. I went back into the hallway and Hilda led me into Troy's room. And there she was sleeping peacefully with him in his bed. We didn't have the heart to wake them up, they looked so cute together." Lisa explained.

"This isn't about whether they looked 'cute' or not. This is about their health!" Dr. Patterson exclaimed.

* * *

Meanwhile as Christine, Jack and Lucille entered the hospital, they ran into Chad and Taylor.

"Good morning guys" Mrs. Bolton greeted.

"Good morning, how are you guys?" The pair answered.

"We're well thank you. So, no Chris today?" Lucille answered.

"Yeah, he's staying with Kelsi, Jason, Sharpay and Zeke. We're coming in shifts, so 2 couples watch the kids and then one comes to visit." Taylor explained.

"And lucky us, we got the first 4 hour shift at 6. 6 o'clock!" Chad said. The adults laughed.

"Oh grow up, Chad these are our best friends"

"I know I was kidding" Chad explained. "So, how are they? They tell you guys more than they tell us."

"Well, Troy is still unconscious, but they say so far he is accepting the lung, so that's good." Jack explained.

"And Gabriella is still recovering. She's mostly resting. The nurses say she should be able to come home in a few days. So it will be good to be getting her home." Christine said.

"Yeah, I think she'll like that. I don't think she likes being in the hospital very much." Taylor answered.

"Yeah, she hates it" Christine confirmed as the group made their way down the hallway to Troy and Gabriella's rooms, just as Dr. Patterson, Lisa and Hilda was moving from Gabriella's room to Troy's. The group watched as Dr. Patterson appeared to be yelling at the two nurses.

"And their families, what about them? Do you think they would want this?"

"Excuse me" Lucille piped up, getting Dr. Patterson's attention. "I don't mean to be nosey, but, whose families?"

"Mrs. Bolton, Mr. Bolton, Mrs. Montez, I am so terribly sorry, I didn't mean for this to happen." Dr. Patterson began. Their eyes filled with worry as Mr. Bolton spoke,

"What did you do?" he asked sternly.

"Well, it seems something has happened during the night, you'd best look yourselves" Dr. Patterson said motioning to Troy's room. The five adults made their way into Troy's room, with Dr. Patterson closely following.

"I really am terribly sorry. I promise it will never happen again." He apologized.

"Are you kidding me?" Lucille said as she saw what was so 'terrible'

"I afraid I'm not, we'll move Ms. Montez back into her room immediately."

"No, no that's not what I meant. Are you kidding me that you think that this is a bad thing?" Lucille clarified.

"Huh?"

"Look at them. Look how happy Gabriella looks." Christine said. "It's just like they were in high school."

"Yeah, just like the times they fell asleep watching movies together" Jack agreed.

"Let them stay like this" Lucille said softly.

"Mrs. Bolton, we have to check them both over again, draw blood, replenish their IVs, I believe the nurses here held out all night on doing that. It's important that it get done." Dr. Patterson

"Just give them a little while longer" Christine pleaded.

"Ok, 10 minutes" Dr. Patterson sighed as he exited the room along with the rest of the group.

Exactly 10 minutes later Dr. Patterson walked past Christine, Jack, Lucille, Taylor and Chad towards Troy's room. The adults immediately got up and followed him into Troy's room.

Dr. Patterson walked over to Gabriella and was about to wake her until Taylor said,

"Wake her up gently, she's not going to want to leave."

"She has to" he replied firmly as he began to shake Gabriella gently, repeating her name, "Gabriella, it's time to wake up"

Gabriella moaned and her eyes began opening slowly.

"Come on Gabriella it's time to go back to your room." Dr. Patterson said. Gabriella's eyes shot open and she began shaking her head.

"Not until Troy wakes up." Gabriella said.

"Gabriella, he's unconscious and you need to go back to your room." Dr. Patterson explained.

"No, I'm not moving."

"Gabriella, then I'm afraid I'm going to have to move you" Dr. Patterson said firmly, quickly moving the covers off of her.

_Flashback_

_"MARIE! Where are you?" Jeff's voice called. _

_"I'm in bed" she replied weakly. _

_"Why the hell aren't you up?" Jeff demanded. _

_"I think I'm sick" she answered softly. _

_"YOU ARE NOT FUCKING SICK! GET THE YOU'RE LAZY ASS OUT OF THAT BED!" J__eff hollered ripping the covers__ off of her._

_End Flashback_

Tears immediately filled Gabriella's eyes as memories of her previous life consumed her thoughts,

"Please don't hurt me" she pleaded softly. The entire room became silent as the adults watched in shock as tears began rolling down Gabriella's face. Christine moved towards her daughter,

"Gabriella honey, no one is going to hurt you, but you have to go back to your room now. You'll be able to see Troy soon." She said softly, Gabriella just nodded. Chad stepped forward,

"I'll carry her." He offered.

"Ok and I'll wheel her IV" Mrs. Montez said. Chad carefully lifted Gabriella up and carried her bridal style to her room, with Taylor and Mrs. Montez in tow.

He placed her in her bed and slowly backed away to let Christine and Taylor consol her. Chad went back into Troy's room to sit with him, while Taylor and Christine stayed with Gabriella.

"I don't know what happened, I thought all my memories of Marie were gone, but they're not. They still come back" Gabriella said softly.

"Gabriella, I don't think they'll ever go away honey, but you have a lot of people who love you and will help you." Christine explained.

"I really am lucky, I have the best friends and family in the world" Gabriella replied.

"We're lucky too, we're lucky to have you" Taylor said.

* * *

Later that day, Sharpay and Zeke entered Troy's room.

"Hello" they greeted Mr. and Mrs. Bolton.

"How are you guys?" Mrs. Bolton asked.

"We're ok thanks, we've just been to see Gabriella" Sharpay answered.

"And how is she?" Mr. Bolton asked.

"She's seemed ok. She's still resting and recovering. After she went to sleep a little while ago Christine was explaining that the doctors think she might suffer from panic attacks frequently, but only the future will tell us more. The police keep wanting to ask her questions but Dr. Patterson is resistant, he wants to wait until he knows more." Zeke explained.

"I think they should wait a while too before they begin questioning her again. From what Troy told me it was a pretty traumatic experience." Lucille said.

"She keeps asking about him, every time a new nurse comes in, she wants new information." Sharpay added.

"Well I'm sure if Troy were awake he'd be doing the same thing." Jack said.

"True" Sharpay agreed.

"Are they going to keep a closer watch on her tonight after last night's events?" Lucille asked.

"Probably, at least that's what Christine said." Zeke answered. "Although, I think it helps Gabriella when she's with him"

"I agree" Lucille said.

"I knew she was going to do that. That's why when she was fighting to go see him I used the time she was sick and Troy had a game, because she ended up going to that basketball game." Sharpay said smiling.

"Hmm, I remember that game, she showed up during the break before the last quarter **(A/N: whether or not they actually have these is beyond me, but for the sake of the story they do) **he went up into the stands" Jack recalled. "I remember him sighing and just shaking his head as he walked back from the stands. He wasn't able to convince her to go home."

"Yeah, I was sitting next to her. She told him very simply…" Sharpay began but was cut off by an unexpected voice,

"You would do the same thing for me, you know you would" the voice croaked weakly. All four heads whipped around towards Troy, who was grinning weakly.

"Troy!" Lucille exclaimed tearfully hugging her son tightly.

"Hi mom" Troy whispered from lack of air.

"Lucille I think its best you don't strangle our son" Jack pointed out. Lucille released Troy who let out a breath.

"Thanks dad" he said as Jack hugged Troy. Zeke gave Troy a hug and said,

"Good to have you back dude"

Sharpay hugged Troy tightly last, and then proceeded to hit his arm.

"Ouch! What was that for?" Troy asked

"Troy Bolton! Don't you dare do that to us again, you had us all scared and Gabriella, don't even get me started." Sharpay screeched. Troy's eyes lit up at the mention of Gabriella's name.

"Gabriella, where is she? Is she alright?" he asked quickly.

"She's about three doors down. She's ok, don't worry" Jack assured him.

"How much did you hear?" Lucille asked.

"Starting at Sharpay when was saying I knew she would do that. Do what by the way?" Troy asked.

"Last night, Gabriella snuck in here to see you" Lucille explained as Troy smiled,

"Well that sounds like something she would do" Troy said. "Wait, Gabriella, so she remembers!"

They all nodded.

"Can I see her?"

* * *

Gabriella was sleeping peacefully in her bed, when she was suddenly awoken by Sharpay's screeching voice,

_"Troy Bolton! Don't you dare do that to us __again, you had us all scared and Gabriella, don't even get me started."_

"Mom! Did you hear that?" Gabriella asked quickly. Mrs. Montez nodded.

"Troy's awake! He's awake! We have to go see him!" Gabriella exclaimed.

"It might just be Sharpay screeching for no reason." Christine pointed out. "Why don't we wait a while, before we go find out"

"No! I have to see him!" Gabriella said firmly.

"Fine, I'll go see. You stay here." Christine gave in. She exited the room and walked down the hall to Troy's room, just as Hilda was entering also.

_"Can I see her?" Troy asked. _

"It's funny Gabriella asked the same question" Christine said upon entering.

"Christine, how is she?" Troy asked.

"She's fine Troy, don't worry. She was actually asleep until she heard Sharpay screech. She almost got up and came here herself." Mrs. Montez said.

"Well, can I go see her?" Troy asked again.

"Troy, you need to be checked over, you've just woken up for the first time since surgery. We need to make sure you're ok and remove that tube" Hilda explained.

"After that can I go see her?" he repeated.

"No, you need bed rest for at least a week" Hilda said.

"Can Gabriella come see me?" Troy asked hopefully.

"If she's feeling up to it, she can come in 10 minutes" Hilda said.

"Oh she'll be feeling up to it, trust me" Mrs. Montez said. "Sharpay and Zeke can you come and help me keep her occupied for 10 minutes?"

"Yeah, we'll come, and then we can call everyone, they'll be very excited." Sharpay said.

No more than 10 minutes later Gabriella was walking down the hallway to Troy's room. This time she had Lisa helping her to make sure she didn't fall.

Lisa knocked on the door gently before opening it. Mr. and Mrs. Bolton kissed their son goodbye and exited the room. Lisa cleared the doorway to let Gabriella enter,

"I trust you can take it from here" she whispered before she exited giving the couple privacy. Gabriella's eyes locked with Troy's and for a moment she felt as if she couldn't breathe. If she has been well enough to run into his arms, she would have, but she made do with walking as quickly as possible towards him.

She wrapped her arms tightly around him as he did the same and buried her head in his chest, breathing in his scent. It hadn't changed since high school and she still fit perfectly in his arms she realized, now that she could remember.

Troy stroked her hair gently, beyond thankful that she was safe in his arms again. Words could not describe the happiness he felt, to know that after 5 long years, he was holding her again and she remember all they'd been through.

Gabriella was so overcome with so many contradicting emotions as she hugged Troy. Tears that she couldn't control came pouring out of her eyes as she began to tremble.

"I'm sorry" she whispered over and over into his chest. Troy gently pulled away caressed her cheek softly,

"You have nothing to be sorry about" he said looking her straight in the eyes.

"Look what happened to you!" Gabriella said hoarsely, fighting back fresh tears.

"You weren't driving the car that hit us" Troy said simply.

"But if it wasn't for me you wouldn't have had to take me to the hospital" Gabriella explained.

"It wasn't your fault you got hurt" Troy replied.

"Why Troy? Why?" Gabriella asked quietly as new tears slipped down her face. "Why did you turn the car, after all the pain I've put you through?"

"Gabriella, I love you more than anyone is this entire world. You are and will always be my everything." Troy began wiping Gabriella's tears off her face. "The 5 years I had to live without you were the worst years of my life. I couldn't smile knowing I wouldn't see you at school. For weeks I couldn't sleep because I just wanted to know you were safe, I wanted you to be in my arms. I kept looking into the stands wanting to see you cheering me on. I waited for you at my locker in hopes that just maybe you would come walking around the hall and take my hand in yours. I started teaching in hopes it would bring me closer to you, in some way or other. But when I saw you for that first time in the diner my pain went away. Those nights we shared a bed I had the best night's sleep. And now, this moment right now, takes away all the pain and more than makes up for it. All that matters is right now. Right now you're safe, right now you're in my arms and right now I couldn't be happier because all I need is you"

Gabriella captured Troy's lips in a passionate kiss filled with lust and love. She ran her hands through his hair as Troy ran his hands down Gabriella's body. She ran her tongue along Troy's lower lip, asking for entrance which Troy quickly accepted, his tongue battling with hers as the kiss deepened.

When air became necessary, Gabriella pulled away, but kept her forehead in contact with Troy's.

"I love you" she said softly.

"I love you too Gabi" Troy replied smiling, it felt so amazing to say those words to her.

**A/N: Phew, there you go the Troyella reunion!! So…what did you think, was it good? I kinda forgot how hard it is to write them, that's another reason this update is late! Anyway please review!**


	22. Just Like Old Times

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters. **

**A/N: ****I'm really sorry for the late update I was plan on posting this chapter on Thursday, but then my internet was down until today, so I wasn't able to get on FanFiction. ****Thank you so much for all the reviews! Oh and just ****so you guys know, this story isn't over yet, I still have a few more ideas up my sleeve! Enjoy…**

_Last Time…_

_Gabriella captured Troy's lips in a passionate kiss filled with lust and love. She ran her hands through his hair as Troy ran his hands down Gabriella's body. She ran her tongue along Troy's lower lip, asking for entrance which Troy quickly accepted, his tongue battling with hers as the kiss deepened. _

_When air became necessary, Gabriella pulled away, but kept her forehead in contact with Troy's._

_"I love you" she said softly._

_"I love you too Gabi" Troy replied smiling, it felt so amazing to say those words to her._

**Chapter Twenty One**

Just Like Old Times

It had been three days since Troy had woken up and today Gabriella was being released from the hospital.

However before she was given the go ahead to leave there was one final test she needed to pass – the questioning. The doctors hadn't allowed the police in, just in case Gabriella suffered from panic attacks. Now they believed she was strong enough that should an attack occur they'd be able to get it under control quickly and safely.

Last night her mother had brought regular clothes for her to change into and now she was sitting nervously in one of the chairs in her room.

_"You can do this Gabriella. Then you can get out of this place, you can see Troy for more than 4 hours a day and everything __will be ok. Just breathe." Gabriella thought_

Just then Officer Heidi walked into the hospital room and closed the door behind him.

"So, how are you this afternoon Gabriella?" he asked.

"I'm well thank you, you?" she responded calmly.

"I fine thanks. Now are you sure you're ok to do this? Because it's perfectly alright if you're not." He assured her.

"I'm sure" Gabriella said.

"Ok if you're sure. So, I've been talking to some of your friends, Kelsi in particular and she was able to explain to me what happened at school before you and Troy were in a car accident. She gave me a name and I need you to confirm it."

Gabriella nodded for him to continue.

"Brian Larson." He said simply.

Gabriella drew in her breath that was one of two names that brought uncontrollable fear to her. A feeling a fear washed over her as her face paled. Her whole body tensed up.

_"It's just a name, it's just a name, he's not here. If you do this you can go home, it's just a name." Gabriella thought._

"Yeah, that's right" she replied softly.

"And I understand you knew him before?"

Gabriella inhaled deeply before answering, "Yeah, he went to high school with my friends and me, he never liked Troy, they hated each other" she explained.

"So I've seen" Officer Heidi said.

"What do you mean seen?" Gabriella asked.

"Nothing, never mind. Do you have any idea why he just suddenly appeared after all those years?" Officer Heidi asked changing the subject.

"Well he didn't really just suddenly reappear. He'd come over to visit Jeff and I from time to time." Gabriella explained.

"So they were friends?" he asked sitting up straighter in his chair.

"Cousins" Gabriella clarified.

"Wow" was all the officer could say "Now all we have to do is find him"

_"Wait you mean, he's still out there, Brian's still lurking out there?" Gabriella thought nervously. "Don't freak out, it's going to be ok, to going to be ok"_

Gabriella nodded slowly, not wanting to speak, in fear that she might break down.

"Well I'm going to report this all back to the police chief, I'll be in touch with you" He said standing up. Gabriella followed suit and also stood up.

"Thank you" he said.

"Thank _you_" she replied watching his leave the room. Almost immediately after Officer Heidi left Doctor Patterson entered.

"Well Ms. Montez, that seemed to go very well. You haven't had any major panic attacks in the last couple days, your blood samples don't show any problems, all the monitors seem to show you as healthy and your injuries are healing nicely. Just make sure you don't engage in intense physical activities and you're free to go" He explained.

"Really?"

"Yes really, your release forms have been filled in. You may leave whenever you like."

"Thank you so much" Gabriella said happily.

"Just remember, take it easy for the next couple days." He reminded her as he walked out of the room.

"I will" Gabriella smiled as she picked up the jacket her mother had brought her. She opened the door and walked out into the hallway. The hallway was mostly empty, only a few nurses walking down it with clipboards in their hands.

Instead of turning immediately as she exited her own room she continued down the hallway to Troy's room.

His recovery process was going to be a lot longer, but Gabriella had promised not only him but also herself that she would be there with him every step of the way.

She could finally have the chance to see him and talk to him for more than an hour at a time, which she had been getting 4 times a day for the past couple days. 4 hours totally really wasn't enough to catch up with someone especially with they weren't always alone.

She opened the door to Troy's room and stepped quietly inside, shutting the door gently behind her. Gabriella made her way over to his bed and pulled up a chair beside him.

He was sleeping, but that was no surprise to her, he was most definitely not a morning person. She didn't care though, she liked the peace. The pair hadn't had a moment alone since the first time they spoke, after Gabriella remembered.

It was nice to be able to watch him, take in all his features. She watched as his chest rose and fell as he breathed in an out. Knowing he was quite a heavy sleeper she gently reached out and ran her hand down the side of his face. She smiled; it felt the exact way she remembered.

"How did you do it?" she whispered. "I wouldn't have been able to. I think it would have been too much for me, the classrooms and hallways would have taunted me."

"They did" Mr. Bolton's voice came from behind her. Gabriella turned around and stood up immediately.

"Mr. Bolton" She said.

"Jack, things haven't changed, you can still call me Jack" he said. Gabriella smiled.

"How are you?" she asked.

"I'm well thank you. How are you?"

"I'm really great actually. Dr. Patterson just signed my release papers. I just came in here to see Troy, because my mother said she's come by later because we weren't sure what time I'd actually get out of here. I can leave if you want to be alone with Troy." Gabriella said.

"No, you can stay, he'll ask for you anyway when he wakes up, you and I both know that. Besides, he's seen me for the past five years it's you he really wants to see. He's missed you, a lot" Jack explained.

"I just glad to see him" Gabriella said looking over at Troy. "Jack, can I ask you something?"

"Yes of course"

"When Officer Heidi was questioning me he said something about seeing he hatred between Troy and Brian, but how could have seen it?" Gabriella asked.

Jack took a deep breath, "Gabriella, I'm not sure I'm person to tell you about what happened the months after you left. I don't know as much as your friends know, I think you'd be better off asking them" he said.

"I understand" Gabriella said softly.

"Why don't you wake Troy up, brighten his day, because Gabriella I can tell you that I haven't seen him this happy in years" Jack suggested.

"Ok, it was nice seeing you again"

"You as well, Lucille and I missed having you around the house."

Gabriella laughed, the Bolton's house had practically become her second home. "Thank, see you later"

"Bye" Jack said walking out of the room.

Gabriella sat on the edge of Troy's bed.

"Troy…" Gabriella said in a sing-song voice in Troy's ear. Troy groaned.

"Mmmm, 10 more minutes." He moaned.

"But it's time for your 3am blood withdrawal" Gabriella said changing her voice.

"Didn't I already do that?" Troy groaned keeping his eyes shut.

"No, you must have been thinking of your 1am blood withdrawal" she continued, trying not to burst out in laughter.

"Is it really necessary to draw blood every 2 hours" he moaned.

"Yes"

"But sleep is important too" he argued still keeping his eyes closed.

"You know wildcat, you haven't changed a bit" Gabriella laughed. Troy's eyes shot open.

"Gabi" Troy said happily. "It's not time for my 3am blood withdrawal is it?"

"No" Gabriella laughed "I just couldn't resist"

"Thank god. I hated that. Did they do that to you too?"

"Yeah, most nights I didn't sleep well anyway so it didn't matter" Gabriella answered.

"And why's that?" Troy asked.

"It's a hospital, what do you expect? I suppose you sleep fine, you could sleep through a nuclear explosion"

"Ahh but you love me for it"

"It's true" she confessed kissing him softly.

"I think that's a record, we've been in the same building and we've only kissed twice in three days" Gabriella said.

"We haven't been alone in 3 days either" Troy reminded her. "And sod's law Chad is going to come bursting through that door and interrupt us and then just as he's about to leave Sharpay will walk in and then once she leaves the nurse will come in and tell you it's time to leave" Troy sighed.

"I'm staying as long as I want" Gabriella said.

"And how do you plan on doing that?" Troy asked.

"Dr. Patterson signed my release forms this morning after I answered some of Officer Heidi's questions." Gabriella smiled.

"That's fantastic. So what are you going to do know?" Troy asked.

"I'll probably stay here with you until you get better" Gabriella answered.

"Anything else?"

Gabriella shook her head.

"Well I have an idea for you" Troy said.

"And what's that?"

"Well, you know that I teach second grade right? And it seems they're going to be without a teacher for a few weeks."

Gabriella nodded for Troy to continue.

"I don't want them with some sub that just sits there and gives them a ton of useless work to do and they don't learn anything. So I want you to be their teacher for a while" he explained.

"Troy…I can't, I don't have a teaching degree and I have no idea what the curriculum is" Gabriella stuttered.

"Gabriella, you know just as well as I do that you are more than ready to teach, you basically taught me everything I learned in school. And believe it or not, I always keep my lesson plans a month in advance, so that should keep you going. And it's not like I'm dead so if you have a problem you can call me" Troy explained.

"But Troy I need to fill out some sort of substitution application and those types of things take time." Gabriella said.

"Ahh, but I've already thought of that. Do you know who the superintendent of the schools is these days?"

"No"

"Mr. Matsui. So I asked my dad to go talk to him and he remembered how great of a student you were. So he used his superintendent powers to allow you to teach my class"

"Really?"

"Really, really" Troy smiled.

"Oh my god! Troy! You are amazing you know that?" Gabriella said excitedly.

"I've been told" he responded. Gabriella grinned and kissed him.

"I. Love. You." She said in between kisses.

"Mmm, me too" Troy said through the kiss running his hands through Gabriella's locks. He pulled her on top of her as Gabriella tangled her hands in Troy's hair. Troy pushed his tongue on Gabriella's lips asking for entrance. Gabriella quickly agreed and moaned softly as their tongues danced together.

Meanwhile….

"Could you guys have gotten anymore food?" Taylor asked as she unbuckled Chris from his car seat.

"Yes actually we could have, but he asked for food, so we hooked him up" Chad explained.

"I don't think Troy is going to be able to eat all that food though" Kelsi pointed out as she came up to the pair with Allie in tow.

"Hello? There are other people here too, this isn't just for him, it's for us too" Jason clarified.

"Whatever you say" Sharpay sighed as the gang got into the elevator.

"Mommy, are we going to see Auntie Gabi today?" Allie asked. The gang had wasted no time in making sure that their kids called Gabriella auntie, after all she was as good as family.

"Of course sweetie." Kelsi smiled.

"Isn't she getting out today?" Zeke said.

"I think that's what they said" Taylor recalled. "We'll stop by Troy's room to say hi and then see what's happening with Gabriella."

The gang reached Troy's room and Chad opened the door.

As soon as they saw the sight in front of them, Sharpay, Kelsi and Taylor immediately covered their children's eyes.

"Oh for god's sake, you should have put a sign outside to prevent scarring us for life" Chad exclaimed.

Troy groaned as Gabriella pulled away from the kiss.

"And you should learn how to knock." Troy muttered sarcastically.

Gabriella giggled, "Just like old times Troy, just like old times"

**A/N:** **So…what did you think? Please review! **


	23. A Coverup, A Class and Cards

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters. **

**A/N: Thank you so much for all the reviews! A lot of you were happy for a nice light, fluffy chapter and believe me I was glad to write it! Enjoy…**

_Last Time…_

_As soon as they saw the sight in front of them, Sharpay, Kelsi and Taylor immediately covered their children's eyes._

_"Oh for god's sake, you should have put a sign outside to prevent scarring us for life" Chad exclaimed. _

_Troy groaned as Gabriella pulled away from the kiss. _

_"And you should learn how to knock." Troy muttered sarcastically. _

_Gabriella giggled, "Just like old times Troy, just like old times" _

**Chapter Twenty Two**

A Cover-up, A Class and Cards

"Mommy! Why did you cover my eyes?" Sarina demanded trying to pry her mother's fingers off her face.

"Yeah mommy! How come?" Chris and Allie agreed.

"Well, it's actually complicated…" The three women began.

"I wanted to surprise you" Gabriella cut in getting off of the bed and walking over to the children. "I just got out of the hospital and I thought it would be fun to surprise you"

"Auntie Gabi!" Allie, Chris and Sarina exclaimed running up to Gabriella and hugging her tightly.

The force of the children running into Gabriella caused her to stumble back a little. At the sight of this Troy sat up straight it his bed and Chad, Zeke and Jason moved forward to make sure they were there to catch Gabriella if she fell.

"Guys, guys take it easy. You have to be careful around Auntie Gabi. She just got out of hospital." Zeke warned. The boys had always been protective over the girls. They treated the girls that weren't their girlfriends like sisters.

"Sorry Auntie Gabi" the kids chorused.

"Don't worry about it, I'm fine." Gabriella told the kids kindly. "Really I'm fine, I promise" She continued looking at Troy, Chad, Zeke and Jason who were giving her unsure looks. "Let's eat this food you guys brought. I'm hungry" She said changing the subject. Of course the boys couldn't argue with this.

* * *

Gabriella was walking around Troy's classroom. Today was her first day teaching and to say she was nervous would be an understatement.

Gabriella was having a mental breakdown

_Gabriella it's ok, just breathe, you can do this. Troy believes in you. Ok…oh for god's sake, who am I kidding? I can't do this. I'm going to screw up. I haven't been to school since 5 years ago; technically I haven't even graduated high school. Oh shit oh shit, I don't remember anything, why don't I remember oh my –_

Her thoughts were cut off by her phone ringing.

"Hello" she answered

**"Hi Gabi"**

"Troy" she said trying to sound like she wasn't freaking out.

**"How are you?" he asked slowly.**

"I'm ok"Gabriella answered quickly.

**"You sure about that?"**

"Yeah" she nodded.

**"Don't lie to**** me Gabi"**

"I – I'm not, ok fine you caught me. But Troy I really don't think this is such a good idea, I haven't been to school in 5 years. These kids deserve someone better than me to teach them. I really don't think I can remember anything and they're going to be confused and-" Gabriella rambled nervously before Troy cut her off.

**"Babe ****chill****. It's going to be ok. You are going to be fine, I promise. You'll know what you're talking about Gabi, this is second grade remember not rocket science although I'm sure you could teach that too, but anyway you know this and the class is going to love you. Trust me" Troy said calmly**

Gabriella drew in a deep breath "Ok thank you. How did you know to call me?"

**"I know you too well" Troy said.**

Gabriella giggled softly. "Well I'm glad you know me so well"

**"So am I Gabi, so am I" ****he responded. **

"Well I should go, you're class starts soon. Thank you for calling"

**"Ok and you're welcome"**

"I love you"

**"Love you too"**

"Bye"

**"Bye"**

Gabriella ended the call and took another deep breath _"I can do this"_

"He's not here _again_" A voice came from behind her. Gabriella turned around and saw two girls standing in front of her, with their coats and backpacks still on.

"Marie!" They exclaimed Gabriella recognized the girls – Emma and Charlotte.

"Hi girls, I know this is going to sound kind of strange but my name is actually Gabriella" Gabriella said.

"But you look a lot like Marie" Charlotte said.

"That's because I am, well I was Marie. Really my name is Gabriella. I just had memory loss and thought my name is Marie, but I'll explain more about that later." Gabriella explained.

"So do you know where Mr. Bolton is?" Emma asked.

"Yes I do and I think it's best if I explain that when everyone else is here too. So why don't you pair go get unpacked and go wait for everyone else to get here." Gabriella said.

"Ok" they replied happily.

* * *

"Wait so you lost your memory in a car crash and then got it back in one too?" Connor asked after Gabriella finished explaining how she lost her memory.

"Yes as crazy as it sounds it's true" Gabriella answered.

"So you've known Mr. Bolton for a long time?"

Gabriella nodded, "Since we were in high school"

"So where is he?" Cassie asked.

"He's actually in the hospital" Gabriella said softly. The class gasped.

"He's recovering though" she added quickly. "He was in the car accident with me and wasn't as fortunate as I was. He ended up having a lung transplant, and now he just has to rest for a while, but he's going to be ok." Gabriella explained softly.

"Can we make him get well soon cards?"Charlotte asked.

"Yeah" the class agreed.

"That's a good idea. Let's make get well soon cards, he'll really like that" Gabriella smiled. "Now we have two options we can either make one huge card or each make individual cards."

"Why don't we do both?" Jason called out.

"Even better! Gosh no wonder he loves you guys. You are all so smart" Gabriella gushed.

2 hours later Gabriella sat at Troy's desk with a stack of cards on the desk as well as a very large card sitting next to it. She smiled, Troy was going to love this. It was then that she noticed something she hadn't noticed on his desk, a picture of her and then there was the picture on Christmas Eve Kelsi had shown her. Gabriella smiled.

_Flashback_

_"Chad__'s__ so stupid sometimes" Troy laughed after hearing Chad comment that __Sharpay's__ dress looked like a Christmas tree._

_"He just needs to learn some common sense and that he should never insult what Sharpay wears__ or any girl for that matter" Gabriella answered._

_"You do have a point. I guess I'm just lucky that my girl always manages to look stunning" Tro__y said. Gabriella blushed. _

_"It's true" Troy said softly. _

_"Thank you" Gabrie__lla said.__ She rested her head on Troy's shoulder and yawn quietly. _

_"It looks like someone is tired" Troy whispered softly. "Lie down" he suggested patting his lap. Gabriella smiled and said,_

_"It's just been a long week" as she rested her head on Troy's legs. _

_"And you have to promise me you'll never have another week like this" Troy replied stroking her curls. "You've been worrying me" _

_"You should__n't__ worry about me" Gabriella said. _

_"Babe, I can't help that I worry about you. After you had that asthma attack, I did more research and found that some are triggered by __large amounts of stress__** (A/N: I don't think this is actually true, but for the sake of the story it is)**__. I don't want you to go through that again. I don't to lose you" Troy confessed caressing her cheek with his thumb. _

_"I promise I'll try not to put so much pressure on myself" Gabriella whispered. "But I'm not going anywhere __Troy,__ somehow I'll always find my way back to you"_

_End Flashback_

"That's one of Mr. Bolton's favorite pictures" a voice interrupted Gabriella's flashback.

"Oh Julia, you scared me" Gabriella said turning to face the little girl.

"Sorry, I just thought you should know." Julia apologized.

"No, no it's ok. Thank you for telling me"

"Sometimes he'd stare at it while we were doing work or while he was eating his lunch. He missed you" Julia explained.

"How did you-" Gabriella began slowly.

"One day I came in early, he was arguing on the phone with someone, I think they were his parents, about you. I think the wanted him to get a new girlfriend, but he didn't want one, he only wanted you. He looked up a saw me and quickly ended the conversation. I thought he was going to be angry with me for coming in, but he wasn't. Instead he told me about you and what happened." Julia explained. "He really did love you"

"Julia, you really are something" Gabriella said softly. "Would you like to come visit Mr. Bolton after school with me" Gabriella asked. "I could call your mother or father and ask"

Julia's face lit up, "Yes please, I would love that"

"Then it's settled. Why don't you go on down to lunch and I'll call your parents"

"Ok" she said happily wrapping her arms around Gabriella giving her a hug. "Mr. Bolton was right, you are amazing" Julia whispered.

**A/N: So that was just a sweet, fluffy chapter full of happiness! I'm in a good mood!!! Please review!**


	24. Brownies and A Note

**Disclaime****r**** I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters. **

**A/N: HAPPY MARCH 1st!! Sorry I just had to do that. Anyway, t****his chapter is dedicated to **gaster55 **she sent me such a long, sweet review and it really meant a lot to me!! Thanks again to everyone! Now on to the story, enjoy…**

_Last Time…_

_"Julia, you really are something" Gabriella said softly. "Would you like to come visit Mr. Bolton after school with me" Gabriella asked. "I could call your mother or father and ask" _

_Julia's face lit up, "Yes please, I would love that" _

_"Then it's settled. Why don't you go on down to lunch and I'll call your parents"_

_"Ok" she said happily wrapping her arms around Gabriella giving her a hug. "Mr. Bolton was right, you are amazing" Julia whispered._

**Chapter Twenty Three**

Brownies and A Note

"Why did you do that?" Julia asked.

Gabriella and Julia were currently at Gabriella's old house in her kitchen. Gabriella was just taking already cooked brownies out of the oven.

"Do what?" she asked.

"Put the brownies in the oven even though you cooked them last night?" Julia asked.

"Because Troy likes his brownies warm" Gabriella explained as she set the brownie pan on the counter.

"That's so nice of you. Do you do that for everyone?"

"Um, only people that I know like them warm." Gabriella answered as she placed the brownies in a container.

"Now come on, we've done all this work, let's get them to Troy before they get cold" Gabriella said picking Julia off of the counter.

* * *

"Dude, where is she?" Troy asked anxiously, it was almost 4:30. East Elementary finished at 3:30 and it was only 20 minutes away from the hospital. "She should be here by now" 

"I'm sure she's fine Troy, maybe she's just late, that's all" Chad reasoned.

"Gabi, is never late you know that" Troy shot back. "What if something happened to her?" he said softly.

"Troy, you really need to calm down, I bet she just got held up at the school" Zeke said.

"Or maybe she had to go somewhere before she came here" Kelsi suggested.

"Yeah Troy, I'm sure she's fine." Sharpay said firmly.

"It's just last time she was late it was because she wasn't coming at all" Troy said softly.

"I know it's hard, but you can't have a heart attack every time she's 20 minutes late" Taylor said.

"37" Troy said.

"Huh?" the group asked.

"She's 37 almost 38 minutes late" Troy said.

Taylor sighed and was about to open her mouth until the door opened revealing Gabriella.

"Hi, sorry I'm late" Gabriella said. "I had to make a detour" she continued as she held of the container of brownies.

Troy let out a long breath, "You're here"

"Of course I'm here. And I've brought along someone" She said stepping aside to reveal Julia. Troy smiled.

"Hi Mr. Bolton!" Julia said happily rushing over to his bedside.

"Hi Julia, how have you been?" Troy asked.

"Fine, well mostly. But the class has missed you. Last week we had this really really old lady teach us. She was kinda weird" Julia explained.

"Was it Ms. Sharky?" Chad asked a little too excitedly, causing Julia to look at strangely.

"Yeah" she answered.

"No fu-ouch" Taylor elbowed Chad, making sure he didn't swear in front of Julia. "I mean, no way! Sharky was a sub when we were at school and she was like 100 years old then!"

Julia giggled, "Yeah she's really old"

"Wow, you know when we were in high school we had phones in all the classrooms and Ms. Sharky always had bad hearing so one time we-"

Troy cut Chad off not wanting him to finish the story, "Gabi are those brownies you and Julia brought?"

Gabriella smiled "MmmHmm" she nodded. Troy grinned.

"I haven't had these brownies since high school" Chad exclaimed moving quickly towards Gabriella with his eyes wide open. Gabriella laughed,

"Sorry about that" she said as she opened the container and held it out to Chad. Jason and Zeke quickly moved over towards her once they discovered the precious container had been opened. All three men look at her pleading,

"How many?" they asked anxiously.

"Aren't you old enough to decide that yourselves?" Gabriella asked.

"Well in that case I'm taking all of them" Jason said firmly.

"WHAT? NO!" Chad exclaimed.

"Yeah that's not fair" Zeke added.

"What? She said we get to decide and I want all of them" Jason said.

"Yeah and what if I want all of them" Chad countered.

"Guys, guys! Maybe I was wrong. Why don't you each start with 2" Gabriella said.

"Fine" the boys huffed like little kids as they each carefully picked the brownies. After the boys had picked their brownies Gabriella held out the container to Troy as he couldn't reach it.

"Let's see if Troy's learned from his mistake" She said holding out the container.

"I have no idea what you're talking about" Troy said innocently reaching into the container. "You warmed them." he said as his fingers came in contact with the warm treats.

"Of course. Don't you remember I always warm them?"

"Oh I remember. I'm just glad you remembered." Troy answered.

"What mistake?" Julia interrupted curiously.

"Well when we were in high school when it was someone's birthday we would each bring in our favorite treat. We had two rules, the birthday boy/girl wasn't allowed to bring in anything and they got first picks of everything so they were allowed to take as many treats as they liked. So on Troy's birthday I brought in my mom's brownies like I always did and _someone _cough cough Troy decided he was going to eat all of them" Gabriella began.

"Hey! I was dared to do it by _someone_ cough cough Chad" Troy protested causing Chad to laugh,

"Yeah but you accepted it!" he shot back.

"Exactly and do you know how many brownies Troy ate Julia?" Gabriella asked.

"Um….I don't know"

"Take a guess" Gabriella said.

"20?" Julia guessed.

"No, he ate 48 brownies, 48!" Gabriella exclaimed. Troy grinned proudly.

"That doesn't sound like a good idea" Julia said.

"Thank you. That's what I said, but no…Troy had to eat them ALL. Well it was his fault that he was sick the next day" Gabriella explained. "Please tell me that for your next birthday you didn't eat as much"

Troy stared blankly at her "Gabi…" he said softly.

"What is it?" Gabriella asked.

"We stopped doing the birthday thing after you disappeared. It didn't feel right" Troy explained.

"After all you were the one who came up with it" Taylor cut in.

"That doesn't matter. You shouldn't have stopped" Gabriella said softly.

"Gabi…it was a really hard decision." Kelsi said.

"It shouldn't have been a hard decision" Gabriella replied. "You should have just continued it no matter what"

"Gabriella, it was probably really hard for them when you disappeared" Julia began. "I bet they felt like the floor had been taken out from under their feet. From what I've heard you were the one to bring them together because you saw the best in each of them, not what everyone else saw. When you disappeared they didn't want to accept the fact you'd been taken away from them by missing your brownies it was only confirming that you were really gone"

Gabriella had tears falling down her face. She quickly engulfed Julia in a hug, "You really are something you know that" Gabriella whispered.

* * *

It was getting late and Gabriella was the only person left in Troy's room besides Troy of course. Julia's mom had picked her up a few hours ago and the rest of the gang had left then too. 

The pair was simply lying in Troy's bed enjoying each other's presence.

"What are you thinking about?" Gabriella asked suddenly.

"You" Troy replied simply. "And how lucky I am to have you, what are you thinking about?"

"The same thing" Gabriella smiled leaning up to kiss him gently. Just then the nurse entered.

"Gabriella it's about time you head home. Mr. Bolton needs his rest." She said.

Gabriella nodded sadly. "I'll come by after school tomorrow" Gabriella said softly.

"Ok, I'll call you tomorrow too" he replied before kissing her.

"I love you"

"Love you too" Troy said as he watched Gabriella exit the room.

"Ms. Montez, may I speak with you" the nurse asked once the Gabriella was outside Troy's room.

"Of course, what is it?" she asked.

"I'm not sure if you're aware of this but it's always better that a patient is not under stress of any sort"

Gabriella nodded her head "Yes I understand, but what does this have to do with me?"

"This afternoon Mr. Bolton's monitors showed his health declined due to an increase in stress. I assure you this wasn't anything major. However, it could have been. I spoke to your friends to try and figure out what happened that could have stressed him out. From what they told me I concluded the stress was related to you being late. Apparently Mr. Bolton was very concerned. Now I'm aware of your past, and I know Mr. Bolton is very much concerned with your safety so please try to make sure he knows you're ok" she explained.

Gabriella nodded weakly, "Ok, I..I'm sorry, I'll see you tomorrow."

Gabriella left the hospital quickly making a mental note not to be late again, but why was Troy so worried about her. She figured it would be best not to ask Troy, she'd talk to Taylor, Kelsi and Sharpay about it tomorrow.

20 minutes later she pulled up outside her mom's house. She entered the house quietly as her mom was probably already asleep.

Gabriella made her way up to her room. Once inside she noticed a note on her desk. She picked it up and read,

_You've hurt me, Gabriella Montez_

_And know you're going to pay_

_So you__ better watch your back._

Gabriella's heart stopped. She couldn't breathe. Who sent her this frightening note? Her hand immediately reached for her phone. She opened it up and started dialing Troy's number until she remembered the nurse's words.

No she couldn't put him under stress. She put down her phone and climbed straight into bed.

This was probably just a joke – right?

**A/N: Uh oh…an evil note!! I don't think this is my best work, I was sick while writing most of it so I hope it's not a total disappointment. Please review.**


	25. It Was Hard

**Disclaimer I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters. **

**A/N: Thank you so much for all the review!! I know a lot of you are anxious to know what's going to happen. Enjoy…**

Last Time…

_You've hurt me, Gabriella Montez_

_And know you're going to pay_

_So you better watch your back._

_Gabriella's heart stopped. She couldn't breathe. Who sent her this frightening note? Her hand immediately reached for her phone. She opened it up and started dialing Troy's number until she remembered the nurse's words. _

_No she couldn't put him under stress. She put down her phone and climbed straight into bed._

_This was probably just a joke – right?_

**Chapter Twenty Four**

It Was Hard

Gabriella was sitting in the classroom alone. The class had gone to library for their special and then after that they were going directly to lunch, so Gabriella had two free periods. She took a deep shaky breath. She'd been afraid all day about the note. She had no idea who could have written it. What scared her even more was that it had been placed in her _bedroom_. The person had been inside her house, her room and the thought of that terrified her.

She wasn't sure what to do. If she told Troy he'd get worried which would make him stressed, which might hurt him in the long run. If she told the police, Troy would find out. If she told her friends they might tell the police or Troy. She felt alone and trapped.

She didn't want to go back to the pain she'd felt for so many years. Her life was finally falling back into place and now this was ruining it.

Gabriella put her head in her hands and let out another sigh. Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Gabriella bolted straight up in her chair, scared out of her mind that it might be the stalker.

"Who is it?" she asked timidly.

"It's us!" three familiar voices chimed. Gabriella let out a breath of relief as the door opened and Taylor, Kelsi and Sharpay walked through.

"Hey guys" Gabriella greeted "What are you doing here?" she asked.

"We just wanted to see our best friend. Is that a crime?" Sharpay answered.

Gabriella laughed "Of course not, I'm glad you're here"

"Good, because we brought Chinese!" Kelsi said enthusiastically.

Gabriella grinned; this was something the four girls used to do during high school. Every Tuesday they'd get together at one of their houses to gossip, study and eat Chinese food.

"Well we better get started because we only have an hour and a half for you guys to tell me about your weddings, I want to hear every detail" Gabriella exclaimed.

An hour later the women had finished discussing each of their weddings and each had promised to show Gabriella the pictures and video.

As the three other women discussed their own children Gabriella became lost in her own thoughts.

What would have happened if her baby had lived? What would her child have looked like? Her heart began to ache for the child. Why did it have to be her baby? Why her? How did she end up with such a hurtful man?

During her senior year Gabriella had thought a lot about the future. Every time she thought about it Troy was always the main component. She knew she wanted to spend her life with him; she wanted to be the mother of his children. At first it scared her to think she was already thinking so far ahead in the future, but she quickly realized she was so lucky, she'd found what most people spent a lifetime searching for – true love.

Gabriella's thoughts turned to Troy and the wonderful memories she had with him. Then almost as soon as they had changed to thinking about him she began to think about what he said yesterday about the gang stopping their birthday tradition. For the first time she wondered what else had they stopped.

"Gabriella are you alright? You've been awfully quiet for the past few minutes." Taylor asked.

"Yeah I'm fine I was just thinking" Gabriella answered.

"About…"

"Um…nothing really" she answered softly. "I want to hear some more stories" Gabriella said trying to change the subject.

"Gabs, I think we've talked enough about us. There's something on your mind. What is it?" Kelsi said.

Gabriella let out a sigh knowing she wasn't going to win this battle.

"It's just, the day I was released from the hospital Officer Heidi said something about _seeing_ the hatred between Troy and Brian. Except both he and Mr. Bolton wouldn't tell me anything about and I haven't found the right time to ask anyone else. Then there's the whole thing about you guys stopping the birthday thing. I just…I don't know, I just want to know what happened after I vanished" Gabriella said.

The three other women sat staring at Gabriella for a few seconds. They had no idea where to begin. Taylor was the first to speak,

"Gabriella, you've got to understand, it was hard on all of us. Everyone took it differently. We didn't know if you were even alive. Almost everyone in the school had their own theory on what happened to you"

"It was hard because they said a lot of hurtful things. Some people thought you'd left because you were pregnant with someone else's baby. Others thought Troy had killed you. Some thought he'd raped you and then you had runaway in fear. Several said you just ran away. Then there were a few who thought you'd been kidnapped." Sharpay explained.

Gabriella blinked back tears, "Why did people do that?"

"I don't know I guess it was just something to talk about. We tried to ignore it for the longest time, especially Troy. But I think it bothered him a lot he just didn't let on. Eventually I think it became too much for him. Especially after the police gave up. That was hard for him. He yelled, a lot. He couldn't understand how the police could give up looking for someone, wasn't that their job to find the missing." Kelsi continued.

"And Brian didn't make it any better. I think that's what Officer Heidi was talking about. I don't think I've ever seen Troy so angry. If Chad hadn't been there to whisper, she wouldn't want this, Brian wouldn't have made it out alive." Taylor explained.

"It got better after high school right?" Gabriella asked tearfully. Sharpay, Taylor and Kelsi exchanged looks.

"Yes it got better, but there were certain days when it didn't." Kelsi began softly.

"Your anniversary, your birthday, Valentine's day, and the anniversary of your disappearance were the big ones. Those were the days when he'd barely say a word, and you could hardly get a smile out of him. We tried to make sure at least one of us was around him on those days for support." Taylor said.

"On other days like Christmas, his birthday or Thanksgiving you could tell he yearned to have you next to him. And then a lot of the time we'd just see him go into a daze wishing you were there." Sharpay said.

"As the years wore on his parents tried to get him to move on and you know…try to find someone else. But he refused of course. He never even looked at another woman." Kelsi explained.

"It was hard Gabriella. We are all so thankful that you're back. We're so happy to see Troy genuinely happy again." Taylor finished.

"I'm sorry I caused you guys so much pain" Gabriella said softly.

"Gabriella, don't y_ou _ever say you're sorry for what happened, it's not your fault at all. We are so glad to have you back. So, so glad" Kelsi assured her.

"I love you guys" Gabriella said outstretching her arms towards her best friends.

"We love you too Gabs" The girls chimed encircling Gabriella in a tight group hug.

"Sadly I think we should get going, your class is going to be back soon and we need to get back to our children." Sharpay said. Gabriella nodded.

"Ok, I'll come by the hospital later today, will you guys be there?" Gabriella asked.

"Probably, if not us then the guys will be there or maybe a mix of girls and guys or maybe all of us. Either way some of us will be there" Taylor said.

"Good to hear. See you later" Gabriella said as she watched her friends leave the room.

She glanced up at the clock – 12:22, she had 8 minutes until the class arrived back. Perfect – that was just enough time to nip out of the classroom and get a cup of tea.

Humming, Gabriella walked back into the classroom holding her tea in one hand. For some reason she found tea calming. Coffee made her hyper and she's never stop talking but tea was soothing.

She walked over to the desk and sat down. Her heart stopped when she saw what was on her desk.

_Hasn't Miss Montez been a good girl,_

_Not telling anyone about these notes._

_I think it's better that way_

_Because sometimes the key to hurting someone_

_Is__ through the__ ones they love._

Gabriella's hands began shaking, god who was doing this to her. She couldn't breathe. She had been gone for no more than 2 minutes and in the space of that time this person had come into the classroom.

The last line haunted her the most. She had just gotten back her loved ones, she didn't want to lose them again.

"Please no" She whispered.

"No what?" a voice came from the door. Gabriella's head snapped up,

"Julia, hi." Gabriella greeted nervously.

"Are you alright?" Julia asked.

"I'm fine, perfectly fine, do you want to help me pass these out?" Gabriella asked changing the subject.

"Sure" Julia replied happily. _"I hope she's ok, for real" _Julia thought as Gabriella handed her papers to pass out.

* * *

Gabriella entered the hospital. She was jittery; she had been all day since she'd gotten the note. She was always checking behind her scared out of her mind that someone was going to pop out to hurt her.

She took a deep breath; no one could hurt her in a hospital, right?

Gabriella got into the elevator and went up to Troy's floor. As she exited the elevator she put a bright smile on her face trying to cover her anxiety.

She knocked lightly on Troy's door, when no reply came she just figured he was asleep. She opened his door and entered the room quietly. For the second time that day Gabriella's heart stopped. The bed was empty and made. Where was Troy?

"Troy?" Gabriella asked breathlessly. "Troy?" she asked again louder. "Troy!" she cried desperately. Hearing Gabriella's cries Lisa** (A/N: A nurse, for those of you who forgot)** rushed into Troy's room.

"Gabriella honey-" Lisa began softly.

"Where is he?" Gabriella asked fretfully.

"You should sit down Gabriella" Lisa said softly.

**A/N: Cliffy! Sorry to do this but the drama is coming back and trust me when I tell you it's going to be more than ever! Thanks so much for all the reviews, keep them coming!!!**


	26. Rejection

**Disclaimer I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters. **

**A/N: Hey guys!! I am sitting in my room in the dark right now (the power went out about 2 hours ago), typing on my laptop, which is my only source of light. So it's kinda weird, but I thought since I have no internet access why not type up the new chapter. So I probably typed most of this in the dark hehe. Enjoy…**

_Last Time…_

_She knocked lightly on Troy's door, when no reply came she just figured he was asleep. She opened his door and entered the room quietly. For the second time that day Gabriella's heart stopped. The bed was empty and made. Where was Troy?_

"_Troy?" Gabriella asked breathlessly. "Troy?" she asked again louder. "Troy!" she cried desperately. Just then Lisa walked into Troy's room. _

"_Gabriella honey-" Lisa began softly. _

"_Where is he?" Gabriella asked fretfully. _

"_You should sit down Gabriella" Lisa said softly. _

**Chapter Twenty Five**

Rejection

"What's wrong?" Gabriella asked tearfully.

"Honey there have been a few complications" Lisa said softly. "Gabriella I hate to be the one to tell you this but Troy had to be placed in the ICU. He's having a rejection episode. This last night he had a fever and this morning he was having trouble breathing." Gabriella felt hot tears slide down her face,

"What about the anti-rejection medicine he was taking? Shouldn't that help?"

"It should, but sometimes the rejection medicine doesn't work as well as we'd like it to. The doctors are pumping powerful drugs into his body to help." Lisa explained.

"I have to see him!" Gabriella said frantically rushing towards the door. 

"Gabriella wait! There's more, his immune system is practically non-functional. He's been placed in a completely sterile environment to prevent any infection. Even the slightest germ could kill him. He's been placed in a coma for his own safety. You might not be able to see him. Sometimes the doctor will let family in, but only for a short period." Lisa explained softly. Tears were now falling freely from Gabriella's eyes,

"So I can't even see him?" she asked.

"I don't know. Dr. Patterson has to approve visitors and Mr. and Mrs. Bolton have to decide if they want to allow you to visit him." Lisa replied. "Come on follow me"

Gabriella let out another gasp of tears as she walked towards the elevator and went down to the ICU. Lisa led her to Troy's new room.

"You'll have to wait here. I'm going to find Dr. Patterson" Lisa said softly stopping in front the ICU waiting room. Gabriella nodded and walked inside the room.

The waiting room was quiet, most people were sitting silently with tear stained faces. Gabriella looked over and saw a couple sitting together, the woman sobbing softly on her man's shoulder.

Gabriella let more tears fall from her face. She didn't know how long it would take for Lisa and Dr. Patterson to come back. She needed someone. Gabriella reached into her purse and pulled out her cell phone dialing her home number.

_Ring…._

_Ring…._

_Ring…._

_Ring…_

_Hello you have reached the Montez household, please leave a message after the tone and we'll get back to you as soon as we can…Beep_

"Hi, mom it's me…um when you get this can you call me…I need you" Gabriella spoke softly her voice breaking as she finished leaving the message. 

She tried calling Taylor, Sharpay, Kelsi, Zeke, Chad and Jason's cell phones, but not one of them picked up.

Gabriella let a tear fall down her face, why was no one picking up their cell phones'? They always kept them with them. Then it hit her – this wasn't high school anymore, they probably only used their cell phones while they were out. But the problem was Gabriella didn't have the gang's home phone numbers. She put her head in her hands and tried to think. What should she do? She needed someone. Dr. Patterson and Lisa didn't seem like they'd be coming back anytime soon. 411! That was it she'd call 411.

She dialed the number and waited for the operator.

"_Hello you've reached 411 how may I help you?"_

"Could you give me the number for the Danforth household?" Gabriella asked.

"_Um let's see here in Albuquerque I have Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Danforth or Mr. and Mrs. Chad Danforth. Which would you like?"_

"Chad Danforth please" Gabriella said.

"_Ok, the number is 267 246 2538"_

"Thank you"

"_You're welcome. Goodbye"_

Gabriella let out a sigh of relief. She quickly dialed the number, praying they would pick up.

At the Danforth Household…

Chad, Taylor and Chris were sitting around the table eating an early dinner when suddenly the phone rang.

_Ring…_

"Who is it?" Taylor asked. Chad leaned over and looked at the caller ID.

_Ring…_

"It just says unknown number" Chad answered 

_Ring…_

"Then just leave it, it's probably just someone trying to sell us something." Taylor said.

_Ring…_

_Yo, this is Chad, Taylor and Chris, we can't come to the phone right now so you're going to have to leave a message. Don't forget to leave your name and your number so we can call you back._

_Beep…_

"_Guys…" came Gabriella's desperate voice over the phone. _Taylor and Chad's heads shot up. _Gabriella let out a sob._ Chad quickly reached over and picked up the phone,

"Gabs, what's wrong?" He asked immediately.

"_Chad…I need you guys" she said softly. _

"What do you need?"

"_Troy's rejecting his lung, they've moved him to the ICU" Gabriella managed to say her voice broke._

"We're coming down there" Chad decided. "Is anyone with you?" he asked.

"_No…Lisa is with Dr. Patterson, no one was picking up their cell phone…I don't anyone's home number I had to call 411"_

"Don't worry Gabs, we're coming right now. We'll call the rest of the gang and have them come down there too." Chad said.

"_Ok, thank you" Gabriella whispered._

"We'll see you soon" Chad said.

"_Bye" she said softly. _

"Troy's in the ICU." Chad said simply. "Gabriella needs us, we'll call the others on the way."

"Ok, come Chris, let's get your shoes on" Taylor said.

**A/N:OMG THE POWER JUST CAME BACK ON! Sorry…let's continue…**

In Doctor Patterson's Office…

"…Mr. and Mrs. Bolton I'm terribly sorry. We did everything we could to try and protect your son against rejection." Dr. Patterson said. Lucille and Jack Bolton listened carefully as the doctor explained what was going on with their son.

"So now what?" Mr. Bolton asked.

"Now we wait and hope"

"How long is he going to be in a come for?" Mrs. Bolton asked.

"That really depends. First we have to wait until he stops rejecting the lung so that we can lessen the amount of drugs we pump into his body. After that it's all down to him. It could be 3 days or 2 weeks or never." He explained.

Lucille let out a small gasp. "Never" she choked out.

Dr. Patterson nodded slowly. "There is always the small chance that he will never wake up."

Lucille let out a loud sob as Jack tried to console her.

Just then there was a knock at the door.

"Excuse me for one second" Dr. Patterson said as he got up to answer the door.

"I'm sorry to bother you Dr. Patterson, but I need to speak with you about Troy" Lisa said quietly.

"I'm kind of busy right now with his parents" Dr. Patterson whispered.

"I know, but Gabriella just got here and she really wants to see him" Lisa explained.

"I think you should tell her that she should just go home for today. We need to keep visitors to a minimum." He answered.

"Well I am not going out there to tell her that, it will break Gabriella's heart" Lisa said her voice rising slightly. Jack Bolton looked up, 

"Gabriella's here?" he asked.

"Yes she just arrived a few minutes ago" Lisa explained.

"Well, where is she now?" Mrs. Bolton asked as she got up from the chair.

"She's in the ICU waiting room" Lisa said.

"Did you tell her?" Lucille asked.

"Yes I did, she wants to see him, but I wasn't entirely sure if it was allowed so I can here."

"Why can't she?" Jack asked.

"Mr. Bolton, your son should keep the visitors to a minimum, the less people we allow in the room the less likely it is that he'll get an infection." Dr. Patterson explained.

"So you want to go out there and scare her even more. If you tell her that she can't see him, she'll think he's going to die." Jack argued.

"I'm not going to scare her" Dr. Patterson said, "I'm just going to tell her the truth"

"Please just let her see him" Lucille begged. "That's the first person Troy would ask to see"

"She can have 10 minutes with him" Dr. Patterson gave in.

"Thank you" Lucille said happily.

"We should go find her, she's probably worried." Lisa cut in.

"Come on let's go then, we need to let that girl see Troy" Lucille said motioning for everyone to leave the room.

In the ICU Waiting Room with Gabriella…

Gabriella hung up her phone; her friends were coming, thank god. She needed them. She set her purse down next to her and drew hug legs up hugging them tightly. This was an old habit. For some reason it made her feel safe. It made her feel invisible, kind of like the way little kids think you can't see them if they cover their face.

She let silent tears fall down her face as thoughts passed through her mind. She couldn't help but think her life was falling apart, again. Troy was in a coma, she was getting threatening messages, which she couldn't tell anyone about. Her world was crumbling down and she couldn't help but feel alone.

Her father had told her it would be hard, but she didn't expect this.

"Gabriella" Mrs. Bolton's voice came as she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up and saw Mr. and Mrs. Bolton standing before her with Lisa and Dr. Patterson behind them. Gabriella launched herself at Lucille hugging her tightly. Lucille wrapped her arms around Gabriella and hugged her back.

"Can I please go see him?" she asked softly.

"Of course you can" Lucille replied softly. "Come on" she continued.

Gabriella followed the adults to a small room.

"Now Gabriella, you'll have to put on these scrubs, a face mask and gloves." Dr. Patterson explained.

Gabriella nodded and quickly put on the gear.

"Now you can have 10 minutes with him" he continued opening the door that led into Troy's room. "I'll let you know when it's time to come out" he said as she walked slowly into the room.

When Dr. Patterson shut the door behind her Gabriella began walking slowly towards the bed Troy lay in. His bed was surrounded by monitors and machines. Instead of the usual one IV there were now several, not to mention the tube that was helping him breathe or the several monitoring his heart and other organs. Gabriella sat down next to him in the chair. Carefully she took his hand in hers. She ran her other hand down his cheek.

"Troy" she whispered breathlessly.

Gabriella brought her hand towards the necklace that hung on her neck.She pulled the necklace out a little so that she could look down at it. Clamping her hand tightly around it, she closed her eyes and began to speak,

"Do you remember when you gave me this necklace? You said to me, whenever you feel sad, or lonely, or afraid, just hold onto this necklace and know that I am always with you, no matter where I am. And while you were 

away that worked for me, I don't know how but it did. I would close my eyes and I could hear your voice saying whatever I needed to hear to calm me down or make me smile."

"After Jeff started abusing me, I remember crying myself to sleep most nights" Gabriella began as the painful memories began to come back to her. "And on those nights I would fall asleep clutching onto the necklace. I remember not understanding why it made me feel better or how it could give me some hope, but for some reason it made me feel loved." She paused taking a breath before continuing.

"Now I realize that it was because deep down in my heart Troy, subconsciously, I knew that you loved me and you always would no matter how far away from me you were." Tears rolled her face as she the words rolled off her tongue.

"You kept your promise Troy, but me. I lied to you, I told you I'd always be there for you and then I left you, I'm sorry. But Troy, please, I need you now, I need you so much"

Gabriella let her head rest on the edge of Troy's bed as she sobbed.

She heard a loud buzz noise and her head snapped up.

"Ms. Montez, it's time for you to come out now" Dr. Patterson's voice came from over the intercom. Gabriella let out another sob. She took Troy's hand in hers one last time and brought it up to her face, trying to remember his touch. She placed his hand back down and kissed his forehead gently.

"I love you" she whispered.

Gabriella walked back to the door. Lisa helped her out of out of her scrubs in the small room next to Troy's.

"Are you ok?" she asked.

"Fine, I'm fine" Gabriella answered quietly, before she went back out into the hallway. She made her way to the waiting room. Before she entered the waiting room she peered through the glass in the door. She could she her friends sitting with Mr. and Mrs. Bolton and her mom. They all looked like they were having some sort of in depth discussion about Troy no doubt. She wiped her tears, put on a brave face and entered the room. 

She walked over to her friends and family and waited for them to acknowledge her presence. The group was so into their conversation they didn't notice Gabriella until she tapped Taylor on the shoulder. Taylor immediately turned around and engulfed Gabriella in a tight hug,

"Gabriella!"

Taylor released Gabriella only to have the rest of the gang hug her as well.

"I'm sorry we couldn't get here sooner Gabs we had to get all the kids to their grandparent's house" Sharpay said.

Gabriella froze at Sharpay's words. Kids. What was she going to tell the class? Her brave face faltered and she broke down. Chad caught her in his arms and she cried into his chest.

"Shhh, Gabs, it's going to be ok. Troy is a fighter, he'll pull through." Chad soothed.

"What am I going to tell the class, they'll be heartbroken?"

**A/N: So…there you go, another chapter…finally. I hope you liked it! I'm really really really really sorry I didn't update sooner. The author's note at the top I actually wrote on March 8****th****, then after the part when I say the power has come back on, I wrote that part about a week later and tried to write whenever I could after thay. These past two weeks have been crazy, I've had so much to do. So, I'm really sorry again. I hope the wait was worth it. Please review!**

**Oh wait…**

**HAPPY EASTER!! **


	27. You're My Everything

**Disclaimer I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters. I also don't own the songs. **

**A/N: Before I start I'd just like to wish a very happy birthday to **_littledarlingdesi14! _**I hope you have/are having/had a fantastic day! ****Thanks so much for all the reviews! Enjoy…**

Last Time…

"_Gabriella!" _

_Taylor released Gabriella only to have the rest of the gang hug her as well. _

"_I'm sorry we couldn't get here sooner Gabs we had to get all the kids to their grandparent's house" Sharpay said. _

_Gabriella froze at Sharpay's words. Kids. What was she going to tell the class? Her brave face faltered and she broke down. Chad caught her in his arms and she cried into his chest. _

"_Shhh, Gabs, it's going to be ok. Troy is a fighter, he'll pull through." Chad soothed. _

"_What am I going to tell the class, they'll be heartbroken?"_

**Chapter Twenty Six**

You're My Everything

"Gabriella are you sure you don't want to take the day off?" Mrs. Montez asked her daughter.

"Yes, mom I'm sure" Gabriella confirmed.

"But Gabs, you've been here all night" Chad reasoned.

"I did get some sleep" Gabriella argued.

"Gabs, you slept in a chair for a few hours, that's not exactly mind-renewing sleep" Chad pointed out.

"It doesn't matter, Troy asked me to teach the class so they wouldn't have to do busy work while a sub was there, if I don't show up they'll have to have a sub." She answered. "I'll just go home, take a shower and change."

Chad and Mrs. Montez sighed.

"Ok"

They knew they weren't going to win this war.

"Call me if anything happens" Gabriella said before she walked out of the waiting room.

* * *

Gabriella walked briskly down the hallway at East Elementary School, she didn't want to be late. Gabriella Montez was never late.

She made her way into the classroom and saw that the room was empty. She let out a sigh of relief. She put her bag on the desk and took off her coat.

Gabriella sat down in the chair and took another deep breath.

She had absolutely no idea how she was going to do this. How was she going to tell them? Surely she might break down if she started talking about it. No, she would have to be strong. She could do that…right? Then of course the other option was to not tell them at all. But that wouldn't work because they always asked how she was doing and she couldn't lie to them.

Gabriella rested her elbows on the desk and covered her face with her hands. Why did this all have to so complicated?

Gabriella felt hot tears touch her hands. She just wished everything would be ok. In some ways she wished she could go back to high school, although at the time it's seemed tough – academically, that was nothing compared to what she was dealing with now.

"Miss Montez" A little voice came from behind her. Gabriella sniffled and looked up.

"Julia, how are you?" Gabriella asked as she wiped her tears, carefully, so she didn't ruin her makeup.

"I'm good, but Miss Montez, what's wrong?" she asked.

"I just have a lot going on right now" Gabriella confessed.

"Are you ok?" Julia asked.

"I will be" she answered.

"Is Mr. Bolton ok?"

Gabriella closed her eyes, she knew this was coming. Slowly she shook her head from side to side, "No, not at the moment."

"What's wrong?" she asked quietly.

"Sweetie, the doctors had to put him into a coma and in an extremely clean room. To go visit him you have to put on gloves and a mask and scrubs. They don't want any germs near him" Gabriella explained softly.

Julia flung her arms around Gabriella, "Is he going to be ok?"

"I hope so" Gabriella whispered as she hugged Julia back.

* * *

It had been a week since Troy's rejection episode began. Although his body had stopped rejecting the lung and the doctors were able to ease up on the drugs a little, Troy still remained in the coma.

Gabriella spent most of her time at the hospital. For the first couple days, she was only allowed in for half an hour daily, but as the week wore on the doctors allowed her to sit with Troy for a longer period of time.

The only problem was that she hadn't had a full night's sleep since Troy began rejecting. Despite the gang's best efforts Gabriella only went home to sleep for 2 nights. Even for those nights Gabriella had argued with them about it.

Gabriella sat in the waiting room waiting for Lucille to come out of Troy's room. Only one visitor was allowed in the ICU rooms at a time.

She fumbled with the small piece of paper in her pocket. It was the latest addition to the growing number she already had. She received a frightening note most days, yet she was still too afraid to mention it to anyone. The words of today's rang over and over in her head.

_It's unfortunate really, that he's still not waking up_

_Maybe my job of making your life miserable will be easier_

The more she thought about the words the more scared she became. Why did this person not like her? What had she done to upset them?

She just wanted this person to stop writing these notes so she could live her life without fear. She wiped away a single tear that had begun to fall down her cheek. These days all she did was worry. Now she wasn't sure which one scared her more, the notes or the thought that she might lose Troy. She was beginning to crack under all the stress, but she had to stay strong or at least try to look like she was.

All of the sudden Kelsi sat down next to her.

"Hey Kelsi" Gabriella greeted.

"Hi, you ok?"

"Yeah, just thinking" Gabriella answered.

"About…?" Kelsi asked.

"Oh this and that"

"You know after you disappeared, what helped the most was music. After I showed the gang the video of your call back audition, they all wanted more videos, more clips of you singing, anything, Troy especially." Kelsi began.

"We all found as many videos of you as we could, but after a while there weren't any left. I would walk into the music room and find Troy singing, usually, When You're Gone. Or he'd just be sitting there, running his fingers over your old school work. I thought about showing him the song you wrote, Everything. I actually spent hours just sitting with it debating whether or not to give it to him. I just couldn't bring myself to give it to him; you needed to be there to sing it." Kelsi explained.

"What are you trying to say?" Gabriella asked quietly through the tears that had begun to fall.

"What I'm trying to say is that music helped us the most. It was like for a moment you were there with us. I don't know, maybe we thought you would hear the music and then be able to find your way back to us somehow." Kelsi explained.

"So I should sing to Troy?" Gabriella asked.

"Maybe it would help, his voice always helped you calm down, maybe your voice will wake him up" Kelsi said.

* * *

Meanwhile, with Chad…

Chad watched Gabriella through the window in the waiting room. He was worried. Yes he was worried that his best friend wouldn't wake up, but he was also concerned with Gabriella. He knew she was taking this hard, probably the hardest of them all, but there was something else. There seemed to be something else bothering her.

He'd been trying to figure it out for days now. The other day he had nearly given her a heart attack when he had tapped her on the shoulder without saying her name first. She had a look of terror on her face until she saw it was Chad. He understood that she'd been through a lot, so he let that one slip, but he watched that look of terror appear on her face over and over again.

He always thought of Gabriella as his little sister, it was his job to protect her when Troy wasn't around. Of course he had tried to find out what was wrong. But when he asked her if she was ok, he always got the same answer, 'I'm fine'. It was such a simple answer, but Chad knew that the real answer had to be so much more complex. He needed to find out what was bothering her.

"What is it Gabriella?" he muttered.

"Ahh so I'm not the only one" a voice came from behind him. Chad turned around to find Mr. Bolton standing behind him.

"You see it too?"

"Most definitely and I'm in the same position as you, I can't figure it out." Jack explained. Like Chad, Jack thought of Gabriella as family. She was like his daughter.

"It's just frustrating; she doesn't deserve whatever's bothering her." Chad said.

"I couldn't agree more. She's been so jumpy lately, which scares me" Jack confessed.

"When I visit Troy, I try and bounce ideas off of him as if he'll answer or he'll wake up and figure it out for me." Chad explained.

"Don't worry I've been doing the same thing. The problem is the longer I go on doing it the more frightening the theories become, which in turn worries me more."

"I couldn't agree more" Chad said.

"Couldn't agree more on what?" Mrs. Bolton interrupted. Jack shook his head discreetly, Chad understood. Jack didn't want Lucille to know their worries; she had enough on her mind.

"The basketball game, we were talking about the game last night." Chad said.

"Of course" Lucille said.

"Was there any change?" Jack asked.

Lucille shook her head sadly, "None. Do you want to go see him Chad?"

"I think there's someone in the waiting room who should go see him first" Chad said looking over at Gabriella.

"I should have known. How is she?" she asked.

Chad paused trying to think of the right thing to say, "She's coping"

Lucille nodded, "Let's go get her."

Lucille, Jack and Chad walked into the waiting room and over to where Gabriella and Kelsi were sitting.

"Gabriella honey, would you like to visit Troy now?" Lucille asked. Gabriella quickly wiped her tears,

"Very much" she said rising from her seat. "Thank you Kelsi, I'll see you guys later"

After Gabriella dressed in her scrubs, face mask and gloves she entered Troy's ICU room. She walked over to his bed side and took a seat in the all too familiar chair. As always she took his hand in hers.

"Kelsi was just talking about you. She told me you used to sing When You're Gone. Is that why you told me it was your favorite song? I guess the lyrics portray how I'm feeling now." Gabriella said.

Gently Gabriella rested her head on his chest and felt it rise and fall with each breath he took.

"I miss you" she whispered. Gabriella sat in silence for a few minutes just listening to his heart beat slowly. She thought about Kelsi's words. She needed Troy, it was worth anything for him to wake up.

Gabriella lifted her head and softly began singing,

_You're a falling star, You're the get away car.  
You're the line in the sand when I go too far.  
You're the swimming pool, on an August day.  
And you're the perfect thing to say._

And you play it coy, but it's kinda cute.  
Ah, When you smile at me you know exactly what you do.  
Baby don't pretend, that you don't know it's true.  
Cause you can see it when I look at you.

As the words came rushing back to her she felt all her worries fade away. All she could think about was Troy and the memories she shared with him.

_And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times  
It's you, it's you, You make me sing.  
You're every line, you're every word, you're everything._

You're a carousel, you're a wishing well,  
And you light me up, when you ring my bell.  
You're a mystery, you're from outer space,  
You're every minute of my everyday.

And I can't believe, uh that I'm your girl,  
And I get to kiss you baby just because I can.  
Whatever comes our way, ah we'll see it through,  
And you know that's what our love can do.

And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times  
It's you, it's you, You make me sing  
You're every line, you're every word, you're everything.

_So, La, La, La, La, La, La, La  
So, La, La, La, La, La, La, La__'Cause you're my everything.  
Yeah, yeah_

And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times  
It's you, it's you, You make me sing.  
You're every line, you're every word, you're everything.  
You're every song, and I sing along.

Gabriella's voice grew soft as she sang the last notes of the song.

_So, La, La, La, La, La, La, La  
So, La, La, La, La, La, La, La, La, La, La, La_

After the song ended she searched Troy's face for any sign of life, but there was nothing. She sighed, maybe he didn't like the song.

Gabriella laid her head back on his chest. She closed her eyes, trying to prevent tears from leaking.

Suddenly Gabriella heard a soft groan. Her head snapped up,

"Troy?"

Gabriella heard another quiet mumble.

"Troy please, please Troy open your eyes. I can't lose you. I need you, your family needs you, the gang needs you, we all do." Gabriella said.

She watched as Troy's eyelids began to flutter.

"You're almost there Troy, please, come on, open your eyes." Gabriella coaxed.

Soon Gabriella found herself staring into Troy's blue eyes.

"You're my everything too" Troy whispered hoarsely.

**A/N: YAY!! He's awake. You know I was just thinking and in all of my stories someone goes into a coma…is that a really bad thing?? I don't know…anyway reviews would be awesome!!**

**If you've never heard When You're Gone, go to my profile and use the link, it's a beautiful song.**

**And in case you want to listen to Everything, the link is in my profile. **


	28. Discoveries

**Disclaimer I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters. **

**A/N: OMG!! I HIT 500 REVIEWS!! You guys seriously have no idea how excited I am! When I looked at the story stats and it was over 500, I screamed, no joke. My mom came upstairs to make sure everything was ok lol! Thanks so much to everyone for the wonderful reviews!!**

_Last Time…_

_Suddenly Gabriella heard a soft groan. Her head snapped up,_

"_Troy?" _

_Gabriella heard another quiet mumble. _

"_Troy please, please Troy open your eyes. I can't lose you. I need you, your family needs you, the gang needs you, we all do." Gabriella said. _

_She watched as Troy's eyelids began to flutter. _

"_You're almost there Troy, please, come on, open your eyes." Gabriella coaxed. _

_Soon Gabriella found herself staring into Troy's blue eyes. _

"_You're my everything too" Troy whispered hoarsely._

**Chapter Twenty Seven**

Discoveries

Later that evening, after everyone else had gone home, Gabriella scrubbed up to go into Troy's ICU room. She quietly made her way into the room and crept to his bedside. Instead of sitting in the chair she decided to sit on the edge of his bed.

At the slight movement Troy woke up from his light sleep and focused his eyes on Gabriella.

"What are you doing here so late?" he asked.

"I just wanted to come see you, I haven't gotten a chance to visit you since you woke up" Gabriella explained.

"Well I'm glad you stayed, I've missed hearing your voice" Troy said.

"I've missed you too" Gabriella confessed.

"I know" Troy replied.

"And how do you know?" Gabriella asked.

"The weird thing about being in a coma is that you can hear everything people are telling you, you just can't answer back" Troy explained.

"Really?"

"Mmmhmm, by the way, what's that song you sang to me called? I've never heard it before." Troy asked.

"Did you like it?" Gabriella asked nervously.

"It was amazing" he answered. Gabriella smiled and said softly,

"It's called Everything. I wrote it in high school. I was going to sing it for you on your birthday as a surprise."

"Well it's my new favorite song" Troy whispered.

"Mine too" she whispered

* * *

It had now been almost a week and a half since Troy had woken up. A week ago he had been moved out of the ICU. He remembered the day with poignant clarity.

_Flashback_

_A nurse named Linda helped Troy walk very slowly to his old hospital room. Although they had to make frequent stops for Troy to rest, Troy insisted that he walk to gain his strength back._

_After he was all settled in his room and Linda had taken some blood Troy was left in the room alone._

_He looked up at the white ceiling and smiled softly as he thought of Gabriella, this was a surprise to her, him being moved out of the ICU. He knew she was going to be so excited to hear the good news. And he couldn't wait either. Finally she would be able to kiss him with those soft lips of hers. Instead of through the face mask she had to wear._

_Just then he heard a knock at the door._

_"Come in" he said._

_"Yo man!" Chad greeted cheerfully_

_"Hey! I'm sad to see you've put away the face mask and scrubs, they were really starting to suit you." Troy joked_

_"Haha funny" Chad laughed sarcastically._

_"Well next time you almost die on us I won't come to visit you." Chad said._

_"Oh come on it wasn't like I was going to die" Troy said._

_Chad looked at his best friend sympathetically._

_"It was that serious?" Troy asked. Chad nodded,_

_"The docs warned us you might never wake up" Chad said softly. Troy took a moment to think about what his friend had just said. He almost died. Suddenly he felt extremely thankful to be alive._

_"Gabs called all our cells and none of us picked up. She didn't know our home number so she had to call 411. Taylor and I let it go to voicemail, because we were eating dinner, but dude as soon as I heard Gabs desperate voice I knew there was something wrong" Chad said._

_"Was she ok?" Troy asked. Chad paused before answering, but he was interrupted by Troy,_

_"Wait, wait you said something about being worried about her while you were visiting me. You and my dad, you guys were both really really worried. What happened?" Troy asked._

_"Wait you could hear us?" Chad asked._

_"Yes I could hear you, but what was wrong with Gabi?"_

_"Nothing happened, we're just worried. We understand she took your episode the hardest, but there something else we couldn't quite put our finger on. She was jumpy, and had this look of terror on her face at times. We just don't want anything to happen to her" Chad explained._

_"Has it gotten better?" Troy asked hopefully._

_Chad shook his head, "No, nothing's changed."_

_End Flashback_

Troy had spent his free time trying to figure out what was going on with Gabriella. He tried to read her eyes to see if they would tell him anything, but all he could see was fear.

He would always ask her if she was ok when she would space out for a few minutes, but he would always receive the same answer, 'I'm fine'.

He was terrified as to what could be bothering her. He tried to convince himself that it was just some stress at school, but then his mind would drift and the look of terror on her face only conveyed painful theories.

He just prayed that she was ok, he couldn't lose her again, that would be too much for him.

* * *

Meanwhile, at East Elementary School…

Gabriella stood at the front of the classroom with a pointer in her hand, pointing at the map of the United States.

"And this state is?"

Half the class shot their hand in the air,

"Um, Charlotte? Which state is it?" Gabriella asked.

"That's Michigan" she answered confidently.

"Very good, now does anyone know what this state is called?" Gabriella asked pointing to a state on the east coast. "Connor?"

"New Jersey?" he guessed.

"That's right, how about this one?" she pointed to another state and everyone's hand went in the air "Everyone!"

"New Mexico!" the class yelled enthusiastically.

"Good, ok guys it's time for library, everyone grab their books and go line up at the door." Gabriella said.

Within a few minutes the class had formed a perfectly straight line behind Jenna, the line leader.

"Ok, now remember, we want to try and stay in a completely quiet and straight line ALL the way to the library. Can we do that?" Gabriella asked.

"Yes!"

"Good, let's go then." Gabriella walked in the front of the line and led the class across the school to the library.

The librarian, Mrs. Schumacher met them at the door,

"Good morning class, how are you all today?" she greeted.

"We're very good thank you" the class chimed.

"That's good to hear. You guys may go and get started picking out two books, if you need any help just come and find Miss Montez or me." Mrs. Schumacher explained. The class dispersed in different directions, each student looking for their new favorite book.

"So, Gabriella how are you today?" she asked.

"I'm well thank you, how are you?" Gabriella asked.

"Just the same as you. How is Troy?" she asked. All the teachers were knew each other quite well, most were aware of what was going on with Troy.

"He's doing much better than last week; they moved him out of the ICU. He likes being in his own room a lot better" Gabriella explained.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that. Give him my best" Mrs. Schumacher said.

"I will" Gabriella assured her.

After 20 minutes Julia had already picked out two books and checked them out of the library.

She was sitting in one of the chairs, near the door, which also happened to be where Gabriella was sitting, reading her book.

Just then, Mrs. Potts, the art teacher walked into the library and noticed Julia reading her book.

"Julia" Mrs. Potts greeted happily, "Did you finish that drawing you are submitting for the art show?"

"Yes!" Julia exclaimed happily, but suddenly her face fell when she realized she didn't have it with her. "Oh, but it's in the classroom."

"Why don't you go get it quickly, it's on my desk" Gabriella offered. Julia grinned and jumped up,

"OK! I'll be right back" Julia rushed out of the library and walked quickly back to the classroom.

She entered the classroom and immediately made her way over to Gabriella's desk. Her eyes scanned her desk and she saw a stack of drawings on the other side. Julia slid around to the right side and started going through the drawings until she found hers.

Julia smiled as her work and gently placed the others back in the pile. Just as she did a piece of paper fluttered to the ground. Julia bent down and picked it up. As she was placing it on Gabriella's desk, she couldn't help but notice the writing on it,

_Gabriella, it's now or never_

_I'm growing impatient_

_I've waiting too long_

_Things are not always what they seem_

_Beware…_

Julia's hands began to shake; she couldn't quite believe what she was reading. Was it really true? It had to be, the note seemed pretty serious. 

Who was writing this? She had no idea but, she knew of Gabriella's history and she was afraid.

Then a thought struck her? Mr. Bolton – she wondered if he knew about this. Surely he did, but then why wasn't he doing anything to stop it. She knew Mr. Bolton was very protective over Gabriella after watching the way they interacted. She also figured that if he knew he'd have some sort of investigation in place. After everything that happened to Gabriella he wouldn't want anything else to happen.

Julia came to the conclusion that Mr. Bolton didn't know. And if he didn't know then the likely hood that anyone else knew was very unlikely. She had to tell someone, before it was too late.

* * *

Gabriella and Julia walked into the hospital that afternoon. It had already been decided that Julia would come with Gabriella to visit Troy earlier in the week. Julia was thrilled, but she knew she was going to have talk to Troy about the note. After finding the note, Julia had folded it neatly into her pocket so she could show Troy, she figured it would be easier to show him than it would be to tell him.

Julia held Gabriella's hand as the pair walked down the hallway to Troy's hospital room. Gabriella's knocked lightly on the door and waited for a, "come in" before she opened the door and the she and Julia entered the room. Chad, Kelsi and Sharpay were all sitting around Troy's bed chatting.

"Hey!" Gabriella greeted warmly. Julia smiled and waved, but didn't say anything. Troy watched Julia in confusion, usually she greeted him happily. Something was up.

Gabriella hugged each of her friends and gave Troy a kiss before sitting in her usual spot on the edge of the bed. Julia also climbed onto the bed and sat beside Gabriella.

"So Troy, how are you feeling today?" Gabriella asked, just as she did everyday.

"I'm actually feeling a lot better. I just wish they'd let me out of the hospital sometime soon." Troy said.

"I wish they would too" Gabriella said. Troy grinned.

"So, Julia, what did you do at school today?" Kelsi asked.

"Well, in social studies we learned about the states, in math we were doing multiplication problems, in science we learned about different habitats, in english Ms. Montez read some more of James and the Giant Peach to us and then we went the library" Julia explained.

"So it was a good day?" Sharpay asked.

"It always is" Julia answered earning smiles from the adults. Just then Gabriella's cell phone began to ring. Gabriella rumaged in her purse until she found her phone. Pulling it out she answered it,

"Hello?"

"…"

"Oh hi mom, you ok?"

"…"

"Yes I'm at the hospital, with Troy. Kelsi, Sharpay, Chad and Julia are here too"

"…"

"What?, mom I can't hear you"

"…"

"Ok, mom it's ok, I'll be there in a bit"

"…"

"Mom don't be sorry, I'll see you soon"

"…"

"I love you too, bye"

Gabrieilla closed her phone and sighed,

"I have to go. My mom wants me home. She needs help with something."

"Ok, are you going to come back later?" Troy asked hopefully.

"Yes, of course, I'll call you when I'm on my way" Gabriella answered. "I'll see you later" Gabriella kissed Troy and hugged her friends and Julia goodbye.

A few seconds after she walked out of the room, Julia turned to Troy.

"Mr. Bolton, I need to tell you something" She said seriously.

**A/N: Oooo a little bit of a cliff hanger there! Will Julia tell him? If she does how will Troy react? Thank you again for all the reviews!! I really love getting them!! Please review!**


	29. The Note

**Disclaimer I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters. **

**A/N: Thank you so much for all the kind reviews…well more like anxious, but they were still sweet!! Anyway I bet you are all yelling at the computer, just spit it out already!! So calm down and here's the chapter!! Enjoy…**

_Last Time…_

_Gabriella closed her phone and sighed, _

"_I have to go. My mom wants me home. She needs help with something."_

"_Ok, are you going to come back later?" Troy asked hopefully. _

"_Yes, of course, I'll call you when I'm on my way" Gabriella answered. "I'll see you later" Gabriella kissed Troy and hugged her friends and Julia goodbye. _

_A few seconds after she walked out of the room, Julia turned to Troy._

"_Mr. Bolton, I need to tell you something" She said seriously._

**Chapter Twenty Eight**

The Note

Troy found himself sitting up straighter at the tone of Julia's voice,

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I saw something today that really scared me. Then I realized as I went through some of my memories of the past couple weeks that the thing that's scaring me has been going on for longer than I thought." Julia explained.

"Sweetie, what's scaring you? I'll try and make it better" Troy said.

Julia looked up at him sorrowfully, reached into her pocket and pulled out the note, which was folded carefully.

"What's that?" Troy asked softly.

"It's what scares me and the fact that scares me even more is that there are probably more of these" Julia said quietly. She slowly out stretched her hand and gave the note to Troy. Troy took in the note in both and carefully unfolded it. Chad, Sharpay and Kelsi watched in anticipation of what the note said.

Troy's eyes scanned the paper. As he read the paper, Troy's face paled and his heart started racing.

"Troy, what does it say?" Kelsi asked softly, she hadn't seen his face pale this way since the day Mr. Bolton had come into their homeroom class to get Troy and tell him Gabriella was missing.

"I need a cell phone" Troy muttered to himself as he searched frantically for his phone. "Where the hell is it?" Troy mumbled in frustration.

"Dude, it's right there" Chad pointed to the bed side table. "But what's up"

"I need to call Gabi" Troy said finally.

"But she just left like 5 minutes ago" Sharpay pointed out. Troy looked up at them and handed Chad the note.

Chad's face turned pale as he read the note, just as Troy's had. Chad whipped his head up.

"Is she picking up?" Chad asked anxiously as he found his phone and dialed Gabriella's home number. Troy didn't respond, he just kept muttering, nervously to himself.

"Can someone explain what's going on?" Kelsi asked softly.

Troy slammed the cell phone shut, "Damnit! She's not picking up" Troy ran his hands through his hair,

"I need to get out of here" he said as he pulled the sheets off his body and swung his legs around the side of the bed.

"Troy! What are you doing?" Kelsi demanded as the machines beside him started beeping.

"Stupid machines!" Troy yelled in frustration. Nurses came rushing in to try and calm Troy down.

"No you don't understand! I need to get out of here NOW!" Troy argued.

"Shit! There's no answer at her house either!" Chad exclaimed. Troy's face changed from being angry to alarmed at Chad's words and everyone in the room went into a commotion, the nurses trying to get Troy to calm down, Chad was yelling incomprehensible words and Julia had now started crying.

"WILL ONE OF YOU PLEASE ENLIGHTEN KELSI AND I AS TO WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!" Sharpay yelled, immediately silencing everyone in the room.

By this time, Kelsi had found the note and read it to herself, she spoke softly,

"Someone has been threatening Gabriella, that's why she's been so jumpy all week. Now they have her, it wasn't a coincidence that Mrs. Montez called and asked for Gabriella to come home on the day that Gabriella received this note, someone is at the Montez house and now they have Gabs."

The entire room fell silent as Kelsi's explanation sunk in.

"Chad, get your ass to Gabriella's house and call the police on your way." Sharpay ordered suddenly, breaking the silence. Chad immediately grabbed his jacket and dialed 911 as he walked briskly out of the room.

"Kelsi, you stay here with Julia and Troy" Troy's jaw dropped open in displeasure. "Troy Bolton, don't you dare look at me like that! You know just as well as anyone else in this room that you are not fit to take down whoever is at the Montez's house." Sharpay snapped.

"I'm going to call Jason and Zeke and get them to go to Gabriella's house too while I go home and stay with the kids." Sharpay said firmly. With that she turned on her heal and walked quickly out of the room.

Troy put his forehead in his hands and closed his eyes.

The three nurses who had come in when Troy's machine's had started beeping, began to move closer to Troy. Kelsi knew they wanted to take his blood and run a few other tests, but she also knew that that was the last thing Troy wanted right now. Kelsi gave Lisa a pleading look and Lisa took the hint. She ushered the other nurses out and left Kelsi, Julia and Troy in peace.

"Is Ms. Montez going to be ok?" Julia asked softly. Kelsi turned to the little girl who had a line of tears running down her cheeks.

"I really hope so. But Gabriella is a strong woman and I know that she will fight her hardest to get through this" Kelsi said. Julia nodded slowly.

Kelsi reached over and hugged Julia, "Thank you Julia, we are so lucky that you found the note" Kelsi whispered.

"I wish I could have found it sooner" Julia said.

"All that matters is that you found it, and you did the right thing by showing it to us" Kelsi replied. Julia smiled weakly before asking,

"What about Mr. Bolton? Is he going to be ok?" she whispered.

"He's taking this hard, but we should probably talk to him" Kelsi whispered back.

Kelsi reached over and touched Troy's forearm,

"Troy…" Kelsi said softly. "Troy, please talk to us. We know you're afraid, but you have you have faith that Gabriella will be alright. She's strong and you know that" Kelsi said.

Troy looked up at Kelsi, his eyes a dark gray color,

"I just don't understand why she didn't tell us something was wrong. We could have gotten the police to stop it." Troy said softly.

"I know Troy, but you know Gabriella. You know she puts her problems on the back burner" Kelsi explained.

"And that's what scares me, what if she hides something else in the future that I can't protect her from?" Troy asked.

"Troy, this isn't your fault, if that's what you're thinking. It isn't even Gabriella's fault The only person who we could possibly put at fault is whoever is doing this to her. I know it's hard to accept that you won't be able to protect her from everything, no one can. But you can do the best you can do and you can be there for her afterwards." Kelsi said firmly. "Knowing Gabriella, all she wants is for you to be there with her"

* * *

With Gabriella as she was pulling into her driveway…

Gabriella's car came to a slow stop as she pulled into her driveway. She opened her car door and grabbed her purse before shutting the car door. She made her way up to the front door as she dug through her purse for her house key.

In some ways she was nervous about going into the house, but Gabriella wasn't entirely sure why that was. Her mother hadn't actually told her what she needed help with, it was the nervousness in her mother's voice that made Gabriella nervous.

Gabriella slid the key into her keyhole and unlocked the door. She opened it and called out to her mother,

"Mami! Mami where are you?"

Gabriella furrowed her eye brows in confusion as she walked into the kitchen.

"Mam-Oh my god! Mami!" Gabriella screamed as she saw the sight her mother was in. Mrs. Montez was tied to a chair with a handkerchief in her mouth. She shook her head as Gabriella ran towards her.

"Mami what happened? I was only just talking to you" Gabriella asked as she untied the handkerchief and pulled it out of her mouth. Mrs. Montez gasped for air and said breathlessly,

"Gabriella honey, get out of this house now, please honey"

"Mami, what are you talking about?" Gabriella asked as she moved around to untie her mother's hands.

"Gabriella, please, just get out" Mrs. Montez begged tears forming her eyes.

"I don't understand why you want me to leave"

"Well, well, well isn't this sweet, mother trying to protect daughter." A voice came from behind Gabriella.

**A/N: DUN DUN DUN!! ****Who is the creepy stalker person?! What's going to happen to Gabriella and her mom? Will Chad and the others make it there before it's too late? Please review!!**


	30. Sacrifice

**Disclaimer I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters. **

**A/N: I don't want to give anything away, but brace yourselves. Thanks so much for all your love and support!! Enjoy…**

Last Time…

"_Mami what happened? I was only just talking to you" Gabriella asked as she untied the handkerchief and pulled it out of her mouth. Mrs. Montez gasped for air and said breathlessly,_

"_Gabriella honey, get out of this house now, please honey" _

"_Mami, what are you talking about?" Gabriella asked as she moved around to untie her mother's hands. _

"_Gabriella, please, just get out" Mrs. Montez begged tears forming her eyes._

"_I don't understand why you want me to leave"_

"_Well, well, well isn't this sweet, mother trying to protect daughter." A voice came from behind Gabriella. _

**Chapter Twenty Nine**

Sacrifice 

Gabriella turned around and her face paled at the sight of the man who was leaning against the kitchen entry way.

"What are _you _doing here Brian?" Gabriella spat.

"Things are not always what they seem, beware…" Brian whispered.

Gabriella gasped, "It was you?"

"Of course it was me! Who else would it be?"

"But why?" Gabriella asked softly. Brian snickered,

"Pay back Gabriella Montez pay back. At first I just wanted to destroy Troy Bolton, but I had to search for his weakness. And it took me such a long time to figure it out. But then after that game when Troy played horribly because he was worried about you, I had it figured out. Troy Bolton's biggest weakness is you, Gabriella Montez, it's you. So I figured that if you broke up with him, he'd be miserable and it would ruin him." Brian said with a smirk.

"But of course, that didn't work and he beat the shit out of me." Brian spat. "So, I needed a new plan, a better plan. I needed to permanently remove you from Troy Bolton's life. I got my cousin to help me and then finally I watched in pleasure as Troy was more miserable than I had ever seen him in his entire life. All was going well, until my dumb butt of a cousin decided to move you back to Albuquerque and you ran into Troy again, which in turn put my cousin in jail."

"So it was _you_ in the car?" Gabriella asked in disbelief.

"No shit Sherlock. Yes it was me and my cousin in that car. I wanted to kill you right then and there, but Jeff wanted to keep you. At first I thought it was going to be hard to keep you quiet, but then you lost your memory and it was easy, you believed everything we told you" Brian smirked.

"Now it's finally time for your life to end so that Troy can be miserable again" Brian said as he pulled out a gun. Gabriella froze, she couldn't breathe.

"You stay away from her!" Mrs. Montez screamed, finally able to free herself from the chair.

"Hmmm, how about not." Brian spat. He paused for a moment thinking and then sneered, "Well, we could make a little agreement."

Christine moved close to her daughter and laced her hand with Gabriella's.

"Gabriella, if you come with me and call Troy to tell him you hate him then I'll let your mother go free. Or I'll let you go and I shoot your mother. It's your choice Gabriella." Brian said. Gabriella felt her whole body begin to shake and tears welled up in her eyes. He was asking her to choose between her mother and Troy.

"Please no, don't make me choose." She begged.

"Too bad, choose now or I kill you both." Brian yelled.

"Gabriella you go. I've lived my life, it's your turn to live yours" Christine said softly, tears streaming out her eyes.

"No, Mami, no" Gabriella sobbed. "Don't say that, no"

"I need a decision" Brian warned.

"Let Gabriella go free, shoot me" Mrs. Montez said bravely.

"NO!" Gabriella screamed.

"Any last words?" Brian said pointing his gun at Christine.

"I love you so much Gabriella, don't you ever forget that. I'm always with you" Christine said softly as she squeezed her daughter's hand.

"I love you too Mami" Gabriella whispered breathlessly as her whole body trembled.

"Against the wall!" Brian demanded harshly. Christine squeezed Gabriella's hand one last time and smiled weakly, "You'll be ok" she whispered as tears fell from her eyes. Mrs. Montez slowly made her way over to the other side of the kitchen, as Gabriella stood shaking her head with her hands covering her mouth, not wanting to believe this was actually happening.

Gabriella's breathing became uneven as she watched in horror as Brian raised his gun.

A gunshot echoed in the kitchen as Mrs. Montez collapsed to the floor, a pool of blood forming around her. Gabriella let out a heart wrenching scream as she watched her mother's face drain of color. Gabriella rushed across the kitchen and collapsed in sobs next to her mother's body. Painful tears rushed from her eyes and her body shook violently.

"Mami!" Gabriella screamed desperately praying that her mother could live through this. But her worst fear had come true, her mother's skin was stone cold and she had no heart beat. Christine Montez was dead.

Gabriella collapsed over her mother's dead body sobbing hysterically onto her mother's chest. She felt her heart break into a million pieces.

* * *

About 5 minutes prior with Chad…

Chad drove frantically down the streets of Albuquerque. He had just called Zeke and Jason and they were on their way to Gabriella's house too.

It seemed to take forever for Chad to arrive at the Montez house. As he rounded the corner he saw 2 police cars and an ambulance come racing down the street from the opposite direction. Chad pulled into Gabriella's driveway just before the cops pulled in.

Chad jumped out of the car and began to run towards the front door. However a policeman grabbed hold of him before he reached the pathway.

"Hey! We have to get in there! Don't you understand that he could be hurting her?" Chad protested.

"Are you sure this claim isn't false?" the policeman asked.

"Yes I'm fucking sure this isn't false!" Chad yelled. Just then Zeke and Jason came running over to Chad and the police officers.

"Why aren't we going in?" Jason asked.

"We have to scope out the property, standard procedure." The police officer explained.

"We don't have time for this!" Chad exclaimed. "Do you not understand that this bastard has been threatening her and his cousin abused her?"

"Sir you really need to calm down" The police officer said softly.

"YOU WANT ME TO FU-" Chad's outrage was cut off my Zeke,

"What my friend is trying to say is that-" however Zeke was cut off by a gunshot ringing through the house. The three boys' faces paled.

"Shit!"

All arguments that had been going on moments earlier were quickly forgotten as the guys sprinted towards the front door. All they could think about was making sure Gabriella was alright.

Chad threw open the front door and raced inside with Zeke and Jason immediately behind him and the policemen only a short distance behind them.

"Gabriella!" Jason yelled trying to get a response. All the guys heard were loud sobs coming from kitchen and the back door opening and then slamming shut. They immediately ran into the kitchen. Police officers ran past the boys to try and chase after Brian, who had escaped out the back door.

As Jason, Chad and Zeke got closer to Gabriella, they saw she had her arms wrapped around another person. Their hearts broke as Gabriella continued to sob painfully.

Chad bent down and gently touched Gabriella's shoulder,

"Gabriella?"

"Stay away from me!" She screamed, thinking it was Brian.

"Gabs, it's us, Zeke, Jason and Chad" Zeke said softly.

"She's gone, she's gone" Gabriella sobbed repeatedly as her body continued to rack with sobs.

"Who's gone?" Jason asked quietly, almost afraid of what the answer would be.

"He killed her! He killed my Mami!" Gabriella bawled as another heart wrenching sob filled the room.

Chad, Zeke and Jason caught their breaths, unsure of what to say. They watched in horror and Gabriella cried out painfully for her mother. The paramedics entered the room and were making their way over.

One of the paramedics attempted to lift Gabriella off of her mother's body.

"No! I want to stay here!" Gabriella sobbed.

"Honey, you need to let go" the paramedic said softly.

"No" she cried.

"Gabriella" Zeke whispered "Don't make this harder on yourself"

Slowly Gabriella lifted her head up and kissed her mother's cold cheek for the last time.

"I love you Mami" she whispered softly, her voice breaking as she gave her mother's hand one last squeeze.

Unable to control her sobs for even a moment, she turned around and collapsed into Chad's arms, soaking his shirt with her tears as her heart breaking cries echoed throughout the room. Gabriella sobbed uncontrollably, while the guys tried to comfort her.

After the paramedics took Christine away, a police officer came over to the group.

"We need to investigate this area, you need to leave" he explained to Jason.

"Gabriella we have to go now. The police have to investigate the area" Jason said softly.

"I –I-" Gabriella choked out shaking her head. The boys looked at each other sympathetically. Chad carefully maneuvered Gabriella so that he could easily pick her up bridal style. He then stood up and carried her to his car.

He opened the back door and gently placed Gabriella in the back seat, squeezing her hand for support before shutting the car door.

He got into the driver's seat. Carefully, he backed out of Gabriella's driveway, as his heart continued to break, listening to Gabriella grieving.

After awhile it grew very quiet in the car. Concerned, Chad adjusted the rear view mirror so that he could see Gabriella. She sat completely upright, her face cold with pain and a continuous stream of tears falling out of her eyes.

**A/N:** **For once, I'm don't have anything to say. Please review. **


	31. Pain

**Disclaimer I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters. **

**A/N: Sorry for the late update, this week has been crazy! My teachers are all going insane!! I swear! I have 1984 on the brain. For any of you who have read it you'll recognize the name of a character in this chapter. Thank you so much for all your reviews! Enjoy…**

_Last Time…_

"_Gabriella we have to go now. The police have to investigate the area" Jason said softly. _

"_I –I-" Gabriella choked out shaking her head. The boys looked at each other sympathetically. Chad carefully maneuvered Gabriella so that he could easily pick her up bridal style. He then stood up and carried her to his car. _

_He opened the back door and gently placed Gabriella in the back seat, squeezing her hand for support before shutting the car door. _

_He got into the driver's seat. Carefully, he backed out of Gabriella's driveway, as his heart continued to break, listening to Gabriella grieving. _

_After awhile it grew very quiet in the car. Concerned, Chad adjusted the rear view mirror so that he could see Gabriella. She sat completely upright, her face cold with pain and a continuous stream of tears falling out of her eyes._

**Chapter Thirty**

Pain

Soon, Chad pulled up to the hospital. He quickly managed to find a parking spot and stopped the car. He glanced back at Gabriella quickly before getting out of the car and opening the door for her.

Tears had stopped flowing out of eyes, but her eyes were still red and puffy. Her face was pale and her make-up was running down her face. Her eyes were filled with pain and sadness. She hadn't looked up when Chad opened the door, she seemed to be in another world. Chad looked down at her hands and noticed she was still trembling.

"Gabriella" he whispered softly. She looked up at him with sorrowful eyes

"Let's go inside and make sure you're not hurt" Chad said softly reaching his hand out for Gabriella to take. Gabriella stood up slowly, not even bothering 

to wipe the tears that were streaming down her face, knowing just as soon as she wiped them, they'd be replaced with fresh ones.

She didn't say anything to Chad and began walking straight towards the hospital entrance seemingly oblivious to the world around her.

Chad looked back and saw Zeke and Jason talking to one of the police officers. Chad caught Zeke's gaze and almost immediately understood that the police wanted to question Gabriella. Chad knew Zeke was trying to ask him if he thought Gabriella was up for questioning. Chad shook his head and Zeke nodded understandably.

When Chad turned back he saw Gabriella walking blindly through the parking lot, not looking for oncoming cars. Chad rushed forward and quickly stopped Gabriella from stepping out in front of a car.

Chad led her towards the entrance of the hospital so that she didn't have to worry about getting run over.

As the pair entered the hospital a few nurses stopped and gasped softly. A nurse came rushing over,

"Come on, hurry up, we'll get her into the emergency room to stop the bleeding." She said trying to grab Gabriela's hand and pull her away. Chad was confused, until he realized that Gabriella's front was completely covered in blood from lying on her mother. It must look like she was bleeding.

"No, no she's not bleeding" Chad said gently pushing the nurse's hand away from Gabriella.

"Then why is her entire front covered in blood?" the nurse asked. Gabriella let out a quiet sob.

"None of your business" he said quickly. He knew it wasn't the most polite thing to say, but he didn't even know this nurse and he didn't want to make Gabriella even more upset by repeating what had happened.

He ushered Gabriella into the elevator. Once inside Gabriella walked immediately to the corner and leant up against the wall. She closed her eyes and breathed in a deep shaky breath. Her eyes snapped open when Chad's cell phone started ringing. Looking at the caller ID Chad let out a sigh.

"Hey Zeke"

"_Dude we have a problem" _

"What?" Chad asked anxiously.

"_The police need Gabriella to identify the man who ran out of the house and they need to hear her side of the story"_

"Do the police not believe he killed Christine?"

"_Oh they believe it, but they just need evidence, they need a witness_"

"Zeke…" Chad sighed.

"_Dude I know, Jason and I tried to talk them out of it, but they said the sooner the better" _

Chad let another frustrated sigh. He felt a soft tap on his shoulder and turned around only to see Gabriella's tearful eyes looking up at him,

"One sec dude" Chad said quickly to Zeke.

"I can go" Gabriella whispered softly.

"How did you-" Chad began to ask.

"I…I was listening" she said softly.

"You don't have to go Gabriella, if you're not ready that's ok. You don't have to do anything you don't want to" Chad reasoned.

"This isn't about me or what I want. I have to do this" Gabriella said quietly tears beginning to form in her eyes.

"Gabs…"

"I have to" she whispered firmly. Chad sighed and lifted the phone back up to his ear,

"Where are you?" he asked.

"_Downstairs by the police desk, are you sure Gabriella is ok with this?"_

"She says she is" Chad said "We'll see you in a few."

5 minutes later…

Gabriella sat in a chair across from two police officers. Chad, Jason and Zeke stood against the wall behind Gabriella. They were in a small room inside the hospital that was obviously used for murder questioning.

"Ms. Montez let us start out by saying that we are incredibly sorry for your loss" the police officer offered kindly. Gabriella nodded softly.

"I'm Officer Lewis and this is Officer O'Brian. We would like you identify the man who we caught running from your house. He didn't have an ID on him and he wouldn't give us his name. Do you know who he is?" Officer Lewis asked.

Gabriella nodded slowly, "Brian, Brian Larson." She managed so say very softly.

"Son of a bitch" Chad muttered to himself.

"How did you know him?" Officer O'Brian asked.

Gabriella swallowed before she answered quietly, "He went to high school with me, his cousin abused me, he's been threatening me and he purposefully caused a car crash and then kidnapped me"

Gabriella felt tears well up in her eyes as painful memories came flashing back.

The guys felt anger boil up inside of them. For all these years Brian had been responsible for Gabriella's disappearance, her memories loss and abuse.

"You guys are friends of Ms. Montez right?" Officer Lewis asked Chad, Zeke and Jason. They nodded.

"Then I'll need you to step outside, we need to ask you all some more questions" the officer said.

"Gabs, we don't have to go if you don't want us too" Chad assured her.

"No, I'm ok" Gabriella said softly.

Officer Lewis escorted the three guys outside for further questioning while Gabriella remained inside with Officer O'Brian.

"Now, Ms. Montez I understand this is extremely hard for you, but I need you to tell me what happened" He said.

"Well, I got a phone call from my mom saying that she needed me to come home, I guess she sounded kind of nervous, not really like herself. So I drove home and when I got there she was tied up in a chair, so naturally I started to untie her, but she kept telling me to get out, I…I didn't understand why she was saying that. That was until Brian came in." Gabriella explained. She felt a mass of tears well up in her eyes, she blinked and the tear droplets rolled down her face.

"Then he explaining why he was doing all this, why he took me away, how I ended up with Jeff, everything. Then he pulled out a gun…and he asked me to choose" Gabriella sniffled, "He asked me to choose between never seeing anyone again or living without my mother. And then she chose, she chose" Gabriella whispered. She couldn't hold in the tears that were leaking out of her eyes anymore, they fell freely from her face.

"Thank you Ms. Montez, we'll be in touch soon. You may go now" Officer O'Brian said sympathetically.

Gabriella nodded and wiped her tears before she stood up slowly, making her way over to the door.

She opened the door and expected to see Chad, Jason and Zeke but there was no one in the hallway. She continued to walk down the hallway and found Officer Lewis standing at the end.

"They just went upstairs" he said simply. Gabriella nodded without saying a word, because she knew that if she spoke her voice would break. As she walked towards the elevator she tried her hardest to hold herself together. Memories of what had happened only a little while earlier were still flashing through her head. She picked her pace and she moved quickly towards the elevator. She was at her breaking point, the memories were getting stronger.

The elevator doors closed and once she saw that she was alone tears poured out of her eyes and she let out a sob of grief.

The elevator moved up and Gabriella covered her heart with one hand and her mouth with the other. Tears continued to pour out of her eyes and she felt her heart breaking over and over again.

She felt the elevator come to a stop and she tried to hold back tears as she walked stiffly into the hallway.

As she got closer and closer to Troy's room, her emotions became stronger. The pain became stronger as the memories played over and over in her head. She could hear all the sounds, Brian's snickers, her mother's words, her own sobs and the fatal gunshot. They rung in her head, getting louder and louder with each second that past. She leaned up against one of the walls of the hallway and slid slowly down it as tears cascaded out of her eyes again, seeming to be the only way to release the sounds in her head. Her body racked with sobs as she pulled her legs tightly to her chest and buried her head in her knees.

Meanwhile with Chad, Jason and Zeke…

They boys made their way up to Troy's room, each of them trying to think of the best possible way to explain to Troy what just happened.

Chad took a deep breath as he reached for the door handle,

"Ready?" he asked.

"Ready as we'll ever be" Jason replied. Chad pushed open the door and Troy's head immediately snapped up,

"What happened? Where is she? Is she ok?" he asked quickly. Kelsi placed a calming hand on Troy's upper arm,

"Maybe if you let them speak they'll tell you what happened." Kelsi said softly.

"Gabriella is downstairs with the police she's answering some questions" Zeke said calmly.

"So she's not hurt? She's ok?" Troy asked quickly. The boys exchanged nervous looks.

Troy noticed these looks that his best friends were giving each other and spoke quickly, "Wait, but if she's hurt then what the hell are the police doing questioning her?"

"Troy, she's not hurt, the police just needed her to tell them what happened and who was in the house" Jason said.

"So who was it?" Troy asked nervously.

Once again the boys exchanged looks,

"Larson" Chad said quietly. Troy's face began to turn red,

"That son of a bitch, I'm going to kill him" Troy muttered. "Wait please tell me they caught him"

"Yes thankfully the police have him" Zeke answered.

"Good, because if they didn't I would hunt him down and murder that bastard" Troy spat.

"Troy, Brian is really the least of our problems" Jason said.

"What do you mean?" Troy asked carefully. Just as Chad was about to open his mouth to answer the door burst open,

"What the hell is going on?" Mr. Bolton asked heatedly. "Lucille and I were coming up here to bring you guys some food and we found Gabriella in the hallway sobbing, unable to explain to us what's going on"

"What? You guys said that Gabi was being questioned by the police" Troy said.

"Why would she need to be questioned by the police?" Jack asked oblivious to the whole situation.

"Brian Larson has been sending her threatening notes and today he was at her house, but lucky Chad and guys got there in time before anything happened." Troy said quickly.

"Then why does she have blood all down the front of her shirt?" Jack asked.

"SHE HAS WHAT?" Troy asked incredulously sitting straight up in the bed. "Dude! I thought you said she wasn't hurt!"

"She isn't hurt! Don't you think that was the first thing we checked?" Chad replied.

"GUYS! This isn't about what you did or didn't do, this is about Gabriella. Something obviously happened and there are only three people in this room who know. So would they be so kind as to tell us so that we can go help our friend" Kelsi explained. Everyone in the room nodded and they all looked at Chad, Jason and Zeke for answers.

The boys paused and then Chad spoke quietly,

"Gabriella's mother is dead" Silence and shock filled the room."I don't what happened or how, but she's dead"

"Can you-" Troy began to say but Chad cut him off,

"I'll go get her" Chad said as he walked out of the room.

"Julia sweetie, what time is your mom coming to get you?" Kelsi asked softly.

"Um, Ms. Montez said she would bring me home" Julia answered quietly.

"I'll bring you home then" Kelsi said. "Why don't we leave Gabriella and Troy for a while?"

Troy nodded.

"I'll come back tomorrow" Kelsi said.

"Ok, Kelsi. Bye Julia, bye Kelsi" Troy said.

As Kelsi and Julia left the room Chad entered with Gabriella in his arms. Troy felt his heart break as he listened to Gabriella's painful sobs.

Gently, Chad placed Gabriella next to Troy. Sensing Troy's presence Gabriella wrapped her arms around Troy's neck and sobbed into his chest.

Troy let Gabriella cry in his arms and he rubbed her back gently, whispering comforting words in her ear.

Slowly Gabriella's sobs began to subside. After about an hour Troy noticed she had fallen silent. He soon realized that she had fallen asleep. He 

carefully unclasped her hands from around his neck and let them wrap around his midsection.

He lay back in his bed and let Gabriella's head rest on his chest.

After a few minutes he heard the door open, looking up he saw his mother standing in the doorway.

"How is she?" Lucille asked. Troy looked down at the woman sleeping on his chest. Her eyes were red from crying, she had tear stains all down her face and Troy was pretty sure that her voice was going to be hoarse tomorrow. He moved a piece of hair out of her face before replying,

"She just fell asleep." He said. "I can't believe she has to go through all this after everything she's already been through. I just wish I could take all her pain away" Troy explained.

"I know you do and we all do. But she needs us to be there for her" Lucille replied, "I think that's all she really wants right now, to be surrounded by the ones who love her the most."

Troy nodded. "That's what I'm going to do"

**A/N: Wow that was depressing. And the next chapter isn't going to be any happier…it's the funeral, it going to be based mostly around Gabriella's feelings. Thanks for reading. Please review!**

**P.S Sorry for any spelling/grammar mistakes, i went over this really quick...i really wanted to get it up!**


	32. There You'll Be

**Disclaimer I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters. **

**A/N: Thanks so much for all the reviews! Make sure to prepare yourself for another sad chapter, funerals aren't happy places…Enjoy…**

_Last Time…_

"_How is she?" Lucille asked. Troy looked down at the woman sleeping on his chest. Her eyes were red from crying, she had tear stains all down her face and Troy was pretty sure that her voice was going to be hoarse tomorrow. He moved a piece of hair out of her face before replying, _

"_She just fell asleep." He said. "I can't believe she has to go through all this after everything she's already been through. I just wish I could take all her pain away" Troy explained. _

"_I know you do and we all do. But she needs us to be there for her" Lucille replied, "I think that's all she really wants right now, to be surrounded by the ones who love her the most." _

_Troy nodded. "That's what I'm going to do"_

**Chapter Thirty One**

There You'll Be

It had been three days since Christine had been murdered. Gabriella hadn't spoken much to anyone. The only people who knew exactly what happened were the police. Gabriella just couldn't bring herself to tell anyone else about it – she didn't want to relive the horrible events.

She knew it bothered her friends that she hadn't spoken much, since they had been keeping a close watch on her. Over the past few days she'd spent most of her day at the hospital and then one of her friends would insist on staying with Gabriella at her house. She understood their concern, but what she really wanted was to be alone for awhile.

And today she got that chance. Today was her mother's funeral. Her friends left her alone for the first time since the murder to get ready.

Gabriella sat in a black dress and heels on the edge of her mother's bed, staring at herself in the mirror opposite her. Her face was pale and her eyes 

were filled with sadness. In her hands she fiddled with a silver and diamond bracelet her father had given to her mother on their wedding day.

As she fingered the cool metal Gabriella contemplated whether she should wear it or not.

When she was little her parents used to tell her that one day when she got married they would give her the bracelet. She had come to realization that neither of her parents would be there when she got married. Her children would never know their grandparents.

In some ways she wanted to wear the bracelet as a symbol that both her parents were with her, but in other ways it just didn't seem right. She wasn't married, she wasn't getting married and her parents weren't there to give it to her.

She sighed and glanced over at the clock – 10:04. Someone should be here any minute to pick her up and take her to the church. Slowly she stood up and smoothed out her black dress before she placed the bracelet back on the dresser.

"I think you should wear it" a voice came from behind her. Gabriella turned her head and saw Troy standing in the doorway. Gabriella couldn't speak; she wasn't sure what to say. Troy walked slowly towards Gabriella.

"I think they'd want you to wear it" Troy said softly.

"How do you know that?" Gabriella asked quietly.

"Well, after you disappeared I visited your mom a lot and all through college too. When I came home to see my parents I went to see your mom. We ended up talking about you most of the time. One day I noticed she was fiddling with that bracelet. So I asked her about it. And you know what she said?" Troy asked taking Gabriella hand and picking up the bracelet. "She said, I wish I could give to Gabriella earlier than her wedding day. She deserves it. She brought so much joy into my life. I would give anything to see her wear it" Troy closed the clasp of the bracelet and let go of Gabriella's hand, leaving the bracelet hanging around her wrist.

Gabriella ran her fingers over the bracelet before looking up at Troy,

"She never got her wish" she whispered.

"Yes she did, she's watching you right now, both of your parents are" Troy said softly.

"You think so?"

"I know so" Troy said firmly planting a kiss on Gabriella's forehead. Gabriella wrapped her arms around Troy's waist and rested her head against his chest, relaxing into the embrace.

Gabriella felt a few tears trickle down her face as she hugged Troy tightly. After remaining the embrace for a while, Gabriella pulled away.

"What time is it?" she asked frantically.

"Almost 10:30" Troy replied calmly. Gabriella moved away from Troy quickly frantically searching for her bag and coat.

"We're going to be late" she muttered to herself. Troy walked near her and pulled her close to him again so that he could whisper to her,

"You can take all the time you need"

Gabriella let out a sigh of relief, "Thank you, but we should get going anyway"

"You sure you're ok?" Troy asked softly.

Gabriella shook her head and closed her eyes tightly together as more tears leaked out.

"No" she squeaked.

"I feel like heart has been ripped out and torn into pieces" She confessed. "I feel like I just got back everything I could possibly want and now it's being torn away from me again. The only thing that's keeping from having a mental breakdown is having you here. I don't know what I would do if you weren't coming to the funeral with me…Wait, what are you doing here? I mean, how? Aren't you? But I thought…"

Troy cut Gabriella off, "I've been working really hard these past weeks to get back up my strength. I was going to tell you I was being released any time now the day your mother died, but with all that went on I decided to wait" Troy explained. Gabriella wrapped her arms tightly around Troy,

"Thank you, I wouldn't be able to do this without you" she whispered.

* * *

When Gabriella entered the church a silence fell over it. She felt all eyes on her. She could see her extended family sitting in the first few rows. Some of them she hadn't seen in years, others had come to visit after Gabriella had regained her memory. On the other side of the aisle sat her friends who all gave her an encouraging smile.

Gabriella walked down the aisle of the church with Troy only a few inches behind her. As she got closer to the wooden coffin she felt herself losing control over her emotions.

Finally Gabriella and Troy reached the coffin. Gabriella's hand flew up to her mouth as she saw her mother's dead corpse. Painful memories began to ring in her head. She felt her heart rate speed up and her breathing become uneven.

She whipped around and fell into Troy's arms sobbing painfully. Troy rubbed her back gently and tried to calm her.

"I'm not strong enough to do this" she cried. Troy held her forearms and looked straight in her eyes,

"Gabriella Montez don't you dare say you're not strong enough, because you are without a doubt the strongest person I know." Troy said firmly. "But if you don't want to do this, you don't have to" he continued. "Although, I'm here and I'll be by your side whatever you decide."

Gabriella sniffled and began to wipe away her tears, "Thank you" she whispered. "I need you to hold my hand"

Troy smiled, "That won't be a problem" He intertwined his fingers with hers and gave her hand a soft squeeze.

Once again, Gabriella approached the coffin, this time holding tightly onto Troy's hand. Gabriella placed both her hands on the side of the coffin, with one of Troy's hand onto of hers. He wrapped his other arm around her back and rested it on her hip.

Gabriella gazed down at her mother. Her face was snow white but her lips were curved in the slightest smile. She was wearing her favorite dress. Gabriella smiled softly as she felt tears fall from her eyes. Carefully she 

reached out her hand and gently touched her mother's hand. It was stone cold. Upon feeling the sensation of her mother's cold hand against her warm one Gabriella closed her eyes tightly trying to prevent the gush of tears that she felt coming. When she opened her eyes again she leaned over the side of the wood and planted a soft kiss on her mother's forehead,

"I love you Mami" she whispered. "So so much"

She stood back up and leaned back against Troy.

Gabriella felt tears stream down her face as she listened to the pastor speak so fondly of her mother.

"…And now we have her daughter, who would like to say a few words" The pastor said.

Troy squeezed Gabriella's hand and gave her an encouraging look.

Slowly Gabriella walked down the long aisle and made her way up onto the stage. Before turning around to face the audience, Gabriella took a deep breath.

She slowly turned around with a microphone in hand. Her friends and family stared intently at her, waiting for her to begin.

"I have to start out by thanking everyone for coming and those who have been there for me this past week, it really means a lot to me and I know it would have meant a lot to my mom. Truthfully, right now I just want to crawl into a dark corner and cry, because I feel like my heart has been ripped in two. But the last thing my mom said was that she'll always be with me and that I'll be ok. So I chose this song to sing today, because my mom was always there for me and I know she always will be." Gabriella said. She looked over at Kelsi who sat at the piano. Kelsi nodded her head and began to play. Gabriella took a breath and began to sing,

_When I think back on these times  
And the dreams we left behind  
I'll be glad 'cause I was blessed to get  
To have you in my life  
When I look back on these days  
I'll look and see your face  
You were right there for me_

She looked out into the audience and saw Troy looking straight back at her encouraging her to go on.

_In my dreams  
I'll always see you soar  
Above the sky  
In my heart  
There always be a place  
For you for all my life_

Gabriella brought her hand up to her heart and closed her eyes gently as she connected with the words.

_I'll keep a part  
Of you with me  
And everywhere I am  
There you'll be  
And everywhere I am  
There you'll be_

She opened her eyes again as memories played through her mind.

_Well you showed me how it feels  
To feel the sky within my reach  
And I always will remember all  
The strength you gave to me  
Your love made me make it through  
Oh, I owe so much to you  
You were right there for me_

Gabriella could almost hear her mother singing along softly with her as she sang the chorus.

_In my dreams  
I'll always see you soar  
Above the sky  
In my heart  
There always be a place  
For you for all my life  
_

_I'll keep a part  
Of you with me  
And everywhere I am  
There you'll be _

_'Cause I always saw in you  
My light, my strength  
And I want to thank you  
Now for all the ways  
You were right there for me (You were right there for me)  
You were right there for me  
For always _

_In my dreams  
I'll always see you soar  
Above the sky  
In my heart  
There always be a place  
For you for all my life  
I'll keep a part  
Of you with me  
And everywhere I am  
There you'll be  
And everywhere I am  
There you'll be_

Gabriella choked on the last words of the song. They came out only as a whisper.

_There you'll be_

She felt tears stream down her face as Kelsi finished playing. She looked out into the audience and couldn't see a dry eye in the entire room. Everyone had been so moved by Gabriella's flawless performance. For the gang it had been especially moving. Not only was Christine like a mother to them all, but it was the first time they had heard Gabriella sing in 5 long years.

For the first time Gabriella let a faint smile cross her face and she remembered the love and compassion her mother had always given her. She knew that even though her mother wasn't on this earth with Gabriella any more, Gabriella was smiling because she knew her mother was reunited with her father and they would be happy together.

**A/N: I tried to end it on a somewhat happy note. The next chapter should be happier so I bet you are all glad to hear that. The song Gabriella sang is There You'll Be by Faith Hill, I'll put a link up in my profile and I'll also put a link up for the bracelet and Gabriella's dress. Thanks so much for reading. Please review!**


	33. From This Moment

**Disclaimer I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters. **

**A/N: Ok, put away the tissue box, there is no crying allowed during this chapter lol. So put a smile on your face and read this happy chapter. Enjoy…**

_Last Time…_

_She felt tears stream down her face as Kelsi finished playing. She looked out into the audience and couldn't see a dry eye in the entire room. Everyone had been so moved by Gabriella's flawless performance. For the gang it had been especially moving. Not only was Christine like a mother to them all, but it was the first time they had heard Gabriella sing in 5 long years. _

_For the first time Gabriella let a faint smile cross her face and she remembered the love and compassion her mother had always given her. She knew that even though her mother wasn't on this earth with Gabriella any more, Gabriella was smiling because she knew her mother was reunited with her father and they would be happy. _

**Chapter Thirty Two**

From This Moment

Two mornings later the sun shone brightly through the windows. Gabriella rolled over in the bed, reaching out for Troy. When all she felt was the mattress beside her, her eyes shot open. She sat up in the bed, looking around the room for Troy. Unfortunately he was nowhere in the room.

She soon realized that she wasn't in her own room, but instead she was lying in Troy's bed. She pondered for a moment how she had ended up in his room but soon remembered that she had eaten dinner at the Bolton's house, then gone upstairs and fallen asleep with Troy. But the question was where was he now? Gabriella glanced at the clock on his bedside table,

**10:45**

That was strange, Troy was usually a late sleeper, especially on Sundays. It was only then that Gabriella noticed a small piece of paper folded up on the pillow next to her. She reached over and took the paper in her hands. She paused for a moment before reading it. In the past couple weeks a note 

meant a threat – but Brian couldn't hurt her now, right? Carefully Gabriella unfolded the paper and began to read,

_Good morning beautiful. I'm sorry I couldn't be there when you woke up, but I had to go to a doctor's appointment. Don't worry though, I'm fine it's just to check up on my lung. I should be back around noon and be sure to be ready to go out for lunch. I think it's time 'Troyella' go on a date again._

_All my love, _

_Troy_

_xoxoxoxo_

Gabriella smiled, 'Troyella' had been the gang's nickname for Troy and her. Since they were always together it was just easier to say 'Troyella' than to say both of their names.

She pushed the covers off of her and swung her legs over the side of the bed so that she could get out. Before she exited the room Gabriella looked around. Everything looked exactly the same, there were still trophies and jerseys all over the place. Although, the room was a lot cleaner than Gabriella remembered, but that was to be expected since Troy had his own apartment now a days. She smiled as she traced the outline of her favorite picture of Troy and her. It was one of them just simply grinned at each other. They never found out who took the photograph but she loved it all the same.

Glancing at the photo one last time Gabriella opened the door and walked out into the hallway. As she walked down the upstairs hallway Gabriella noticed all the pictures of Troy that were taken during the time period she was gone. There were pictures from his high school graduation, his college graduation and everything in between.

She managed to find her way downstairs to the kitchen. She went straight for the refrigerator and pulled out the milk and chocolate syrup. Then she managed to find the cups in one of the cabinets. Just as she was about to pour the milk into the cup she heard a voice from behind her,

"Good morning Gabriella"

Gabriella whirled around and saw Lucille Bolton standing in the doorway with coffee in hand.

"Good morning" Gabriella greeted as she continued to pour her milk.

"I see you still enjoy chocolate milk" Lucille said motioning to Gabriella's glass. Gabriella smiled stirring in the chocolate,

"I guess I just kind of did it without even noticing"

"Well it's good to see you down here again. How are you doing?" Lucille asked.

"Better" Gabriella answered pulling out the spoon out of her glass. "I think I'm doing ok"

"That's good to hear"

"Where's Jack?" Gabriella asked taking a sip of her chocolate milk.

"He went with Troy to his appointment" Lucille answered.

"Why didn't you go too?" she asked.

"Don't worry about it" Lucille said. Gabriella set the glass on the counter.

"Troy wanted you to stay so I didn't have to be alone in the house. Right?" Lucille nodded. "I'm sorry, you really should have gone. I would have been alright on my own" Gabriella said.

"Gabriella trust me, I would much rather stay out of hospitals after the amount of time I've spent at them. And besides I've missed having you around the house" Lucille assured her. Gabriella sighed in defeat picking up her glass again,

"You sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. So do you have any plans for the day?" Lucille asked, changing the subject. Gabriella paused for a second, before she set her glass for the second time.

"Do you where Troy's taking me for lunch? Because ever since I read that note, that's all I can think about. I mean usually I'm good at figuring out Troy, but I can never when he throws these surprises at me."

"You know what Troy's like, he's always secretive about these kinds of thing" Lucille said. Gabriella sighed,

"I know…and it drives me insane." Lucille smiled,

"So are excited?" she asked.

"Yes very" Gabriella nodded. "But I'm nervous too. I feel like it's our first date all over again." She confessed.

"I bet Troy's feeling the same way knowing him" Lucille smiled. Gabriella grinned and took a gulp of her chocolate milk. Just as she swallowed her milk she heard her cell phone ring from across the kitchen. Setting the glass down Gabriella walked across the kitchen and picked up her cell,

"Hello?"

"_Ms. Montez?"_

"Yes this is she. Who is this?"

"_This is Officer Heidi. I'm calling about Brian Larson's trial."_

Gabriella felt her face pale,

"What about it?" she asked slowly.

"_We need you to testify"_

Gabriella felt her heart rate speed up. Testifying meant reliving the events of her mother's murder – but she wasn't sure if she was ready to do that. She hadn't even retold the events to the people closest to her. But she didn't have a choice

"When is it?" she asked.

"_In two weeks, but we'll need you to come and meet with the prosecution team so we can prepare" he explained_.

"Ok, when do you need me to come in?" Gabriella asked softly.

"_Is Thursday at 4 in the Albuquerque Court Offices ok?" _

"Yeah"

"_Ok, I'll see you then. Bye"_

"Bye" Gabriella said as she closed her phone, placing it slowly on the counter, staring off into space.

"Gabriella, what's wrong? Who was it on the phone?" Lucille asked nervously.

"It was Officer Heidi, I have to testify at Brian's trial" Gabriella said flatly still staring blankly into space.

"Gabriella you don't _have_

to do anything. If you're not ready-" Lucille began

"-then Brian doesn't get thrown in prison for life. I don't have choice" Gabriella said sharply.

"Well just know, that you don't have to say anything you don't want to" Lucille assured her. Gabriella nodded weakly.

"I think I'm just going to go upstairs and get showered and dressed" Gabriella said quietly.

"Ok, if you need anything, just yell" Lucille said.

"Thank you" Gabriella said as she put her glass in the sink and walked out of the kitchen.

Lucille sighed – Gabriella was always put in such tough situations.

* * *

An hour later Lucille sat at the kitchen table reading a magazine when she heard the front door open. After a couple of seconds her husband and son walked into the room.

"So how did everything go?" she asked them nervously.

"The docs say everything is fine, don't worry mom" Troy explained. Lucille looked to her husband for confirmation.

Jack nodded, "They said everything looks good, but they still want him to come back every other week just to be safe." He said.

Lucille nodded.

"Is Gabi up yet?" Troy asked.

"Yeah, she got up a little before 11." Lucille answered. Troy looked at his mother skeptically. There was something in her eyes that told him something was up.

"And…" Troy said trying to get to continue.

"And, she seemed happy until she got a phone call from Officer Heidi" Lucille said.

"What did he want?" Jack asked.

"Gabriella to testify at Brian's trial" Lucille said.

"I still don't get why he even deserves a fricken trial" Troy spat.

"As an American it's his right Troy" Lucille reminded him.

"I know, I know, but how did she take it?" Troy asked.

"Truthfully I think she's terrified, but she won't let on about it"

Troy sighed, "Unfortunately, that doesn't surprise me"

"It doesn't surprise any of us. But on the bright side, before that she was very excited for your date" Lucille said trying to lighten the mood. Troy grinned.

"So where are you taking her?" Lucille asked curiously.

"That's a secret" Troy said.

"What's a secret?" Gabriella asked walking into the kitchen.

Troy turned around and grinned at Gabriella,

"Where we're going"

"Can you please just tell me?" Gabriella asked sweetly.

Troy shook his head, "Ahh but if I did that it wouldn't be a surprise now would it?" he said smartly. Gabriella frowned.

"But, I could show you" Troy offered.

"Now?" Gabriella asked excitedly.

"I would say now is as good a time as ever." Troy smiled. Gabriella grinned and disappeared momentarily to grab her shoes and coat.

"Ready!" she said excitedly. Troy grinned,

"We'll be back later" Troy told his parents as he grabbed Gabriella's hand.

"Have fun!" Lucille called out as she watched the pair walk towards the front door.

Gabriella and Troy got into Troy's car and immediately Gabriella asked,

"So, can you tell me now?"

Troy rolled his eyes and turned to Gabriella,

"You need to be patient" he whispered before kissing her softly.

"Only for you" Gabriella whispered.

"Good"

10 minutes later Troy pulled into the East High School parking lot. Gabriella eyed him skeptically.

"Wait and see" Troy said opening the car door and running around to the other side to help Gabriella out.

"Thank you" Gabriella smiled as Troy took her hand.

"You're very welcome. Now follow me" Troy said.

Gabriella followed Troy through the hallways of the school until they came to a familiar door at the end of a hallway. Troy opened the door and the pair walked up to the stairs to their secret spot – the garden roof top.

Gabriella gasped. Set up was a small table with two chairs on either side. A vase of lilies was placed in the middle of two plates of peanut and butter sandwiches.

Gabriella turned around and threw her arms around Troy hugging his tightly.

"I love you" she whispered. Troy smiled,

"I love you too"

* * *

Several hours later after the couple had spent their time together talking, laughing and kissing. Troy stood up and held out his hand. Gabriella looked up at him curiously.

"Dance with me?" he asked.

"There's no music"

"When has that ever stopped us before and besides I think that's already taken care of"

Gabriella took Troy's hand. Troy pulled her close. Just as Gabriella wrapped her arms around Troy's neck and Troy snaked his arms around Gabriella waist, pulling her close, music began to play. Gabriella looked up at Troy in amazement,

"Let's just say I know some people." Troy whispered in her ear.

_From this moment life has begun  
From this moment you are the one  
Right beside you is where I belong  
From this moment on_

Gabriella rested her head on Troy's chest as they swayed to the music.

_From this moment I have been blessed  
I live only for your happiness  
And for your love I'd give my last breath  
From this moment on_

_I give my hand to you with all my heart  
Can't wait to live my life with you, can't wait to start  
You and I will never be apart  
My dreams came true because of you_

"Gabi, I've been thinking. My apartment is really lonely. Will you move in with me?" Troy whispered in her hair.

_There is nothing I wouldn't give  
From this moment on_

_From this moment as long as I live  
I will love you, I promise you this_

Gabriella's head snapped up and her eyes locked with Troy's. Her mind began to spin. Of course she loved the house her mother left her, could she really leave it? But it contained so many painful memories. She couldn't even bring herself to walk into the kitchen. Somebody else deserved the beautiful house, because Gabriella knew that as long as she lived in that house, she would be forever haunted. And besides she loved Troy.

_You're the reason I believe in love  
And you're the answer to my prayers from up above  
All we need is just the two of us  
My dreams came true because of you_

"Yes" Gabriella whispered.

_From this moment as long as I live  
I will love you, I promise you this  
There is nothing I wouldn't give  
From this moment  
I will love you as long as I live  
From this moment on_

Troy's lips captured Gabriella's in a passionate kiss. His tongue ran over the bottom of Gabriella's lip, asking for entrance. Gabriella was more than happy to oblige. As their tongues danced passionately together sparks radiated through their bodies.

After a long while they pulled away slowly, keeping their heads touching.

"I love you" they both whispered simultaneously.

**A/N: And there you have it. Nice and fluffy and sweet if I don't say so myself. I hoped you liked it! Please review! Almost forgot...the song is From This Moment On by Shania Twain. I'll put a link in my profile if you want to listen to it. **


	34. My World

**Disclaimer I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters. **

**A/N: Thanks so much for all the reviews!! I'm really glad you guys are still enjoying this story. Unfortunately the story is beginning to come to a close. Don't worry there are still a few more chapters left. I'm not exactly sure how many. Don't worry though I have an idea for a different story and I have some one shots up my sleeve, so this isn't the end of my stories. Enjoy…**

_Last Time…_

_Troy's lips captured Gabriella's in a passionate kiss. His tongue ran over the bottom of Gabriella's lip, asking for entrance. Gabriella was more than happy to oblige. As their tongues danced passionately together sparks radiated through their bodies. _

_After a long while they pulled away slowly, keeping their heads touching. _

"_I love you" they both whispered simultaneously._

**Chapter Thirty Three**

My World

There had only been a few times in Troy's life when he had been more anxious than he was right now. Then worst part was he couldn't pin point the exact cause. Although, it probably had something to do with the fact that he was headed to pick Gabriella up from her prosecution meeting. He was nervous because he knew this wasn't going to be easy for her. She'd avoided the subject all week which was a sure sign of a nervous Gabriella.

The other possibility was the fact that Troy was going to have to tell Gabriella something he had just learned today concerning Julia.

Whatever the cause Troy needed to pull himself together because he had just pulled into The Albuquerque Court Offices Parking Lot.

He walked into the brick building and found his way to Cheryl Whitney's Office – that was the prosecution lawyer Gabriella was meeting with. He sat down on the bench and looked across the room at the clock on the opposite wall – 5 o'clock. Gabriella should be finished any time now.

As if on cue the door opened and more people than Troy expected walked out of the room. He recognized Officer Heidi, who walked out first, talking with some sort of medical examiner; Troy wasn't entirely sure what she was. Then out walked two more police officers. Officer Lewis and Officer O'Brien were their names Troy discovered after reading their badges. Then two lawyers walked out talking with Gabriella. Troy watched as Gabriella said her goodbyes and expressed her gratitude.

Then she walked up to Troy and wrapped her arms around his waist, burying her head in his chest. Troy kissed the top of her head and whispered,

"Come on, let's get out of here." She nodded and laced her fingers with his.

Once the pair was seated in Troy's car, Troy asked,

"So how'd everything go?"

Gabriella let out a sigh, "Truthfully, it was all a bit overwhelming, but I managed to get through it" Troy nodded and Gabriella continued, "Not only do they want to charge him for my mother's murder but they also want to charge him with kidnapping."

"Is that a bad thing?" Troy asked, trying to get to the root of Gabriella's troubles.

"No of course it's not a bad thing. It's just…" she paused, "It's like I said, all a bit overwhelming. It's a lot to recall." She confessed. Troy nodded, he knew there was something else bothering her but he decided against asking her, she'd been through enough for today.

"I'm sure you'll do a fine job at remembering everything" Troy encouraged, reaching over and squeezing Gabriella's hand in his. Gabriella smiled.

"So Ms. Montez it's choice time now. Do you want to go home or come with me to practice?" Troy asked. Gabriella thought for a moment before answering.

"Well, I'd really like to come with you to practice -" Gabriella began.

"So practice it is" Troy said turning on to South Avenue.

"Are you sure? I wasn't really finished with my answer. I wouldn't want to bother your practice" Gabriella said.

"Gabriella, you don't worry about anything. I was secretly hoping you would choose that one"

Gabriella grinned.

* * *

"Come on! Let's go! You're almost there! Move!" Troy shouted at his team as they ran laps around the gym. It was always the first and the last thing he had the team do at each practice. In the beginning it gave them time to clear their heads and think about the practice to come. Then at the end it gave the guys time to reflect on the practice and then think about any life problems. All while getting exercise.

"Ok, that's good guys, gather round." Troy yelled blowing his whistle. "You've done a really great job today. If you keep the good work we'll win the game on Saturday. But as for now, get your asses out of here"

Troy chuckled lightly as he watched his players sprint out the gym. Just then he felt a familiar pair of arms wrap around him from behind.

"Nice practice" she whispered. Troy grinned and turned around in the embrace, so that he was facing Gabriella.

"Thank you" Troy whispered, "So you're glad you came?"

"Mmmhmmm, it brought back memories." Gabriella said.

"Like what?"

"Like…"

_Flashback_

_Gabriella missed Troy, she missed snuggling with him while they watched a movie, she missed him sneaking in to her room at night just to say goodnight, she just missed being around him. Yet, she saw him every day during school. It was just that, this past week had been so intense for Troy – the Championship game was tomorrow and Troy and the team were working their asses off._

_Gabriella understood that this was really important to him, but Gabriella was worried, she knew Troy was overworking himself. Every day this week, Troy had practice until 7, but it always went until at least 8. Then, when he got home he needed to take a shower, eat and do his homework. After he'd _

_finished all that it was usually midnight or even 1 am. Then, Troy would get up at 5 am to go for jog before school started which supplemented his free period workout. The only time that left Troy and Gabriella to be together was during lunch. Gabriella watched painfully as Troy continued to overwork himself and be completely oblivious to it._

_But now Gabriella needed to say something. School just finished so knew exactly where Troy would be, in the locker room getting ready for his after school practice. She took a deep breath as she turned the door handle of the boys locker room. Before turning the corner into the locker room she called out,_

_"Girl about to enter, you have 10 seconds to cover up" She heard rummaging and people scrambling to get covered. She waited a few moments before calling out,_

_"Ok! I'm coming" She turned the corner and walked confidently done the rows of lockers. She made her way to the very last row and found Troy pulling his jersey over his head, mindlessly. He looked up and to Gabriella's surprise had a look of complete shock on his face when he saw Gabriella._

_"Woah! How did you-? When-?"_

_"Didn't you hear me call out a few minutes ago?" Gabriella asked. Troy stared at her blankly. Gabriella gave him a soft smile as she walked towards him. She snaked her arms around his waist and rested her head on his shoulder. She felt Troy pull her closer to him as he wrapped his arms around her._

_"You ok?" Troy whispered._

_"I could ask you the same question" she responded, pulling away from the embrace. Her answer earned her a strange look from Troy._

_"I'm worried about you" She confessed._

_"Babe, please don't worry, I'm fine" Troy assured her._

_"See but that's the thing, I'm also worried that you're not worried. You're overworking yourself and it's scaring me."_

_"Do you remember right before Christmas break you were overworking yourself? Why did you do that?" Troy asked._

_"There wasn't a specific reason; I just had to get it all done"_

_"But why did you want to get it all done?"_

_"It was important to me"_

_"This is the same thing. I love basketball and it's so important to me that I win this game. I want to make you proud. You're going to do great things in your life, I want to do great things with you" Troy explained as Gabriella felt tears glisten in her eyes. She brought her hand up to Troy's cheek,_

_"I will always be proud of you and I already am. I have no doubt in my mind that you will achieve greatness Troy Bolton. Because it doesn't matter if you win or lose the game tomorrow, you're always going to be my hero" Gabriella said softly, before she kissed Troy gently._

_"But in order the kick the knights' butts the way I know you can, you need to get a good night's sleep tonight. So promise me you'll get one?"_

_Troy nodded, "I promise" Gabriella gave Troy another quick peck on the lips._

_"I love you" she whispered._

_"Love you too" Troy said as he watched Gabriella turn and begin to walk out of the locker room. Just before she disappeared around the corner of his row of lockers she said, over her shoulder,_

_"That means 10 o'clock. And I have my ways of finding out if that actually happened" Troy chuckled._

_He listened to Gabriella's footsteps as they made their way out of the locker room. Suddenly he heard them come to a halt,_

_"All of you guys should think about doing the same thing, you all look tired. And don't say you have no idea what I'm talking about, because I know you were all listening in on our conversation" Gabriella said. She turned the door handle and walked back into the hallway._

_Troy smirked; his girlfriend always knew what to say._

_End Flashback_

Gabriella had retold the story in such detail that it was as if you were there. She managed to describe each scene and every emotion.

"What happened to basketball? It was so important to you?" Gabriella asked.

Troy sighed, he knew he was going to have explain this to her sometime,

"For a long time I thought basketball my world, then I met you and you taught me that my world was shared by a lot of things. However, when you went missing I realized that you and only you made up my world. Suddenly basketball didn't matter anymore. All that mattered was getting you back or getting parts of your existence back." Troy explained. Gabriella studied him, looking to see if that was all he wanted to say. Soon she saw something in his eyes that told her there was another reason. She nodded for him to continue,

"I guess it was also hard to look into the stands and not see you standing there cheering me on. It made everything seem real." Troy confessed. As Gabriella looked up at Troy, she saw a flash of pain flash through his eyes.

"I'm sorry" she whispered. "I feel like I took away something in your life that you loved"

Troy placed two fingers under her chin, forcing her to look up at him,

"Hey" he said softly, "You don't have anything to be sorry about. You didn't take anything away from anyone. If anything you've given my more than I could ever ask for. And you returning has made up for all pain" Troy finished by planting a kiss on her forehead. Gabriella smiled softly.

"Can I make a confession?" Troy asked, changing the subject. Gabriella raised her eyebrow as she nodded.

"In the story you were saying that you missed me sneaking in to wish you good night. Well, I did that every night during the championship game week. You were just asleep by the time I got there" Troy said.

Gabriella laughed, "Why doesn't that surprise me"

* * *

Later that evening Troy was sitting at the kitchen counter searching the internet. Suddenly he heard Gabriella's voice as she entered the kitchen,

"Watcha doing?" she asked.

"Nothing" Troy said quickly, shutting his laptop.

"Okay" Gabriella said slowly giving him a skeptical look. She sat down next to him on another barstool. "So I never got the chance to ask you how your day was"

"It was…good" Troy answered.

"Just good?"

"Yeah"

"Ok Troy, that's two lies in under a minute, what's going on?" Gabriella asked. Troy let out a sigh,

"It's about Julia" he said. Immediately Gabriella's eyes filled with worry.

"What happened? Is she ok? Oh god please tell me she's ok"

"Julia's fine Gabi. I got a phone call from her mother today or I guess now I should say her foster mother" Gabriella felt her jaw drop,

"She's in the foster care system, why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't even know. But anyway Mrs. Wright called me today to ask for Julia's schoolwork. Naturally I asked her why she needed it and she said Julia has to be moved to an orphanage. Apparently Julia's biological parents had her when they were only 15. So, the Wrights offered to foster Julia for 8 years until her parents were ready to take care of her. Now it's been 8 ½ years and Mrs. Wright just made contact with Julia's biological parents and neither of them want Julia." Troy explained. Gabriella felt tears in her eyes, how could a mother or father not want their daughter.

"But can't the Wrights keep her?"

Troy shook his head, "They want to, but the Wrights are struggling financially right now, they don't have the means to provide for Julia anymore. The state has been providing money to the Wrights, but now that the 8 year deal is up, the state won't pay. The Wrights don't have a choice"

Gabriella felt tears fall from her eyes; Julia was a smart, kind, creative girl that Gabriella had fallen in love with.

"Isn't there anything we can do? Julia means so much to me" Gabriella asked.

"Well, the only way that she won't be sent to the orphanage is if someone adopts her" Troy said. "So I doing some research and I was thinking, if it's ok with you, that maybe we could adopt her"

Gabriella didn't even have to think about it for even a second, Troy's suggestion had been the perfect idea.

"How do we get started?" Gabriella asked. Troy grinned and opened his laptop back up. The pair researched adoption for long hours into the night.

**A/N: I'm not entirely sure about the information about the foster care system, but I think it's pretty accurate. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please review!**


	35. The Trial

**

* * *

**

Disclaimer I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters.

**A/N: Enjoy…**

_Last Time…_

"_Well, the only way that she won't be sent to the orphanage is if someone adopts her" Troy said. "So I doing some research and I was thinking, if it's ok with you, that maybe we could adopt her" _

_Gabriella didn't even have to think about it for even a second, Troy's suggestion had been the perfect idea. _

"_How do we get started?" Gabriella asked. Troy grinned and opened his laptop back up. The pair researched adoption for long hours into the night. _

**Chapter Thirty Four**

The Trial

Gabriella sat nervously in Cheryl's office waiting for the trial to begin. Her lawyers, Cheryl Whitney and Jonathon Marshall were briefing her on a few last minute things as well as attempting to give her confidence. Although Gabriella wasn't entirely sure that that was what they were doing, her mind was somewhere else. It was thinking back to about 2 am that morning.

_Flashback_

_Gabriella couldn't sleep. Every time she almost drifted into a deep slumber new thoughts or uncertainties filled her mind. According to the red lights next to her bed it was exactly 2:04 am._

_She rolled over and smiled at Troy's sleeping figure before she quietly got out of the bed. She made her way through the apartment, grabbing a blanket before she reached the French doors that led out onto the balcony. Taking a seat on the swing, she wrapped herself tightly in the blanket._

_At 2:04 in the morning there wasn't any noise, which Gabriella enjoyed, it gave her time to really collect her thoughts._

_To say she was nervous would be the understatement of the year, she was terrified. The scariest part was easily going to be retelling what happened. Each time she recalled the event of her mother's murder the sounds rang through her ears and the images flashed continuously through her mind. _

_Both times she had retold the event either during or afterwards she had broken down. Troy didn't know that she had broken down during her prosecution meeting, but it was better that way. Troy had enough on his mind. She knew the trial was already troubling him and on top of that he had to worry about adopting Julia, which was turning out to be a difficult process. The case worker, Helen Davis, wasn't pleased with the trial Gabriella was involved with. Troy had tried to convince Helen it wasn't a problem, but it wasn't going so well. And Gabriella felt awful about it._

_She let out a deep sigh and looked up to the starry night sky,_

_"What am I supposed to do?" she whispered breathlessly. Her heart almost jumped out of her chest when she heard a voice behind her,_

_"You are supposed to be asleep." Relief washed over her when she saw it was only Troy who was walking onto the balcony._

_"What are you doing out here?" she asked._

_"Well" Troy began, taking a seat next to Gabriella, "I came out here to see you" he grinned._

_"Ok, then I guess the better question is how did you know I was out here? You were asleep when I left."_

_"You think I need to be awake to know you're beside me?" Troy said. "I know when you're around Gabriella Montez, always. But the best question is why are you out here?"_

_"I couldn't sleep, there's too much going through my mind." She confessed_

_"You want to talk about it?" Troy asked softly. Gabriella looked up at him, with heavy eyes,_

_"It's nervous mostly, about trial and about this whole thing with Julia"_

_"You wanna know a secret? I have some of the same things running through my mind. So, why don't we make a deal. If you stop worrying about the trial and Julia, I will too" Troy suggested._

_"Sounds like a good idea" Gabriella smiled, resting her head on Troy's shoulder. She let out a soft yawn, which didn't go unnoticed by Troy._

_"I think we should head inside, you're cold and you need your sleep." Troy whispered. Gabriella nodded and slowly moved herself off of the swing. Troy led her back towards their bedroom and the pair climbed in on opposite sides of the bed, only to move close to each other once they were under the covers. Both Gabriella and Troy lay on their sides, Troy had his arms wrapped tightly around Gabriella's midsection and Gabriella was pressed up against Troy's front._

_"It's 2:22, make a wish" Troy whispered. Gabriella closed her eyes gently, making her wish. She listened as Troy's rhythmic breathing calmed her, sending her into a deep slumber._

_End Flashback_

Her thoughts were interrupted by the message tone of her cell phone. Gabriella rummaged through her bag, until she found her phone. She opened it and read the text message,

Remember our deal…love you. Troy xxxxx

Gabriella smiled. Was it really possible that Troy always knew exactly what she needed? She looked up and saw Cheryl and Jonathon looking at her disapprovingly.

"Sorry" she murmured.

"It's alright, just make sure it's turned off during the trial" Jonathon warned. Gabriella nodded and quickly turned off her phone.

"We should probably head into the courtroom" Cheryl said. Gabriella stood up and followed her lawyers into the courtroom.

The three of them were the first people into the courtroom, which eased Gabriella's anxiety – at least she didn't have to be stared down by people as she walked across the courtroom.

She took her seat on the table on the left side of the courtroom and began to wait. She could hear the room filling with people, but couldn't bring herself to look back at the people there.

All of a sudden the courtroom began silent.

"All rise for the honorable Judge Watson"

Gabriella stood up and watched as the Judge made her way to her seat.

"You may all be seated. We are gathered here today for the trial of Mr. Brian James Larson, accused of murder and kidnapping. Please bring in the accused." The Judge said.

The side doors opened and Brian came walking out in handcuffs with two police officers. Refusing to look at him, Gabriella kept her head down. In a moment of poor judgment of time, she looked up, thinking he would have passed. But instead her eyes locked with his and images of his face during the murder flashed through her head. Tearing her gaze away from his, Gabriella tried to push the memories out of her head.

"May the prosecution please begin with their opening statement" The judge said.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury…" Cheryl began.

* * *

About an hour later, after the prosecution had presented their scientific/medical evidence and the defense attempted to disprove the evidence Jonathon said,

"We would like to call Ms. Gabriella Montez to the witness stand." The judge nodded. Taking a deep breath, she stood up, smoothed her skirt and began to walk towards the witness stand. After swearing to tell the truth Gabriella took her seat. For the first time she looked out into the gallery and saw her friends sitting in one of the rows along with Lucille and Jack, each giving her a look of encouragement.

"Before we start why don't you tell the jury a bit about yourself." Jonathon said.

"As Jonathon said, my name is Gabriella, I'm 23 years old and I live here in Albuquerque. Right now I'm starting classes to become a teacher." Gabriella said.

"Gabriella, can you explain what happened on the day your mother was murdered?"

"I got a phone call from my mom, she said she needed something. So I went home to help her." Gabriella began. "When I got home, I called out for her but she didn't respond, which made me kind of nervous. Then, I went into 

the kitchen and she was tied to a chair and had a handkerchief in her mouth. So I started to untie her, but while I was doing that she kept telling me to get out of the house, I was confused, I didn't understand why she was saying that. That was until Brian entered the kitchen and he said, Things are not always what they seem, beware. Those were the exact lines written in the threatening notes."

"Before you continue Ms. Montez could you explain more about these notes?" Jonathon asked.

"For a couple weeks I had been getting these anonymous threatening notes every few days. I would get in the school, at my house or on my car." Gabriella explained.

"You can continue, with your story."

"After I figured out he was behind the threatening notes, he confessed to everything he had done to me. Then he told me it was time for my life to end" Gabriella spoke slowly, trying to keep herself composed.

"My mother screamed for him to stay away from me. And then he said that we could make an agreement" She paused, "He said, either…I could go free, but he would shoot her or h…he would let her go free, but he would take me away again and I would have to tell everyone I hated them" Gabriella shut her eyes tightly as the painful feelings of the choice began to fill her up again. The pain in her heart became unbearable as she uttered the next words,

"She chose, she sacrificed herself and he raised the gun" Silent tears fell from her eyes as her body started to tremble.

"It was all a blur after that really. All I remember is running to her and then Chad, Zeke, Jason and the police came." Gabriella said quietly.

"If you're ok to continue I'd like to ask you a few more questions" Jonathon requested. Gabriella nodded even though she really wasn't ok.

"You mentioned something about Brian revealing all the things he had done to you. Can you explain that?"

"I went to high school with Brian and he was always tormenting me. One evening as I was driving back from babysitting I suddenly saw headlights of 

an oncoming car headed straight for me. So I tried to swerve into the next lane, but the car swerved too and it hit me head on. After that everything went black. I don't know how long it was after that, but I…I woke up in some apartment. Brian was there, as was Jeff, and I didn't have any idea who I was or where I was. They lied to me, told me I was someone I wasn't. Brian confessed to driving the car into mine on purpose, lying to me purpose." Gabriella explained.

"And Jeff, who is Jeff?" Jonathon asked. Gabriella paused to a second,

"Jeff was my fiancé. When I first woke up he told me I was his girlfriend." Gabriella said quietly. "He abused me, him and Brian both sometimes."

"Thank you Ms. Montez." Jonathon said. Gabriella let out a breath, thankful she didn't have to recall any more painful memories. She gently wiped any remaining tears that very on her cheeks. "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury as you can see not only does Gabriella's story match the scientific evidence that our team gave you a while ago but also it is evident that Brian has left lasting effects of Gabriella through both the murder of her mother and kidnapping her." Jonathon explained persuasively.

"Thank you Mr. Marshall. Now Mr. Mullen, your defense team has the opportunity to cross examine Ms. Montez." Judge Watson said.

Brian turned and smirked at Troy. He knew he had hired an excellent lawyer who was going to make this as painful as possible for Gabriella. He smirked at Troy knowing this was going to make him angry.

Troy felt his whole body tense up. He clenched his fists and jaw, anger boiling through him. Taylor noticed that not only was Troy tensing up but so was her husband. Looking down the row her thoughts were confirmed when she saw that all the guys had tensed up, with a look of anger on their faces.

"Don't let it bother you, you know he's just doing that you get a reaction from you." Taylor whispered. However none of the men relaxed. So, she tried a new approach. "You need to be calm for Gabriella. She needs us" Immediately both men sitting next to her relaxed and she noticed the other girls saying the same thing to the others. Taylor was absolutely right, Gabriella looked terrified. For a moment after Jonathon had finished speaking her face had calmed but once Brian's lawyer stood up a look of terror crossed her face.

When her frightened eyes met Troy's, he mouthed 'I-love-you'. Gabriella gave him a grateful look and mouthed 'you-too'.

"Ms. Montez, while you were explaining your story; you mentioned waking up and not remembering anything. If you lost your memory how could your story possibly be legit?" Kevin Mullen asked. Gabriella froze for a second, how was she supposed to respond to that? As she racked her brain for an answer she remembered Cheryl preparing her for this question.

"I was in another accident, which caused me to regain my memory. After extensive tests my doctor deemed that I had completely regained my memory. My lawyer has a copy of the report if you would like to see it" Gabriella said. Cheryl handed Kevin the doctor's report and he skimmed it quickly nodding as he read it.

"Fair enough. Your story can be deemed as legit. However there are a few things that seem to lift the blame off of my client and put it on you." Kevin said. "Take the notes for example; they could be considered a fair warning. Could you explain to us why you didn't tell anyone?"

"I…I…the notes said not to tell anyone about them." Gabriella answered.

"Did they? Could you please read the very first one aloud to us?" Kevin asked, handing Gabriella a copy of the first note.

"_You've hurt me, Gabriella Montez_, _And now you're going to pay_, _So you better watch your back._" Gabriella read slowly.

"Do you hear anything about not telling anyone Ms. Montez?"

"No, but-" Gabriella began but was interrupted by Kevin.

"Exactly my point. So Ms. Montez, if you would've had enough sense to tell the police about this, it could have been prevented." Kevin concluded.

Gabriella sat there stunned; it couldn't be that easy for his to rip her story apart. She needed to say something.

"If you read the second note it commends me for not telling anyone, which implies that I shouldn't. Also, even if I had told the police and Brian had been caught, I doubt that would have stopped him. He tried to get me during high school, but that failed. So he tried to kill me in a car crash and when that failed he took me away from my friends and convinced me I was someone else. When that failed he tried to kill me again. So even if the police had stopped him and he failed at trying to kill me, he would still tried again in a different way at a different time." Gabriella argued. Kevin was stunned at the response Gabriella has just giving, it was extremely well spoken. Brian had warned him that Gabriella was a smart girl, but after watching her testify on her mother's murder, he though her as weak. Now that his mind was changed he would have to bring out the big gun.

"Would you say you're good at making decisions Ms. Montez?" Kevin asked.

"Yes usually." Gabriella answered.

"And would you say you usually make the right ones?"

"I try to"

"Have you ever made a decision you regret?" He asked. Cheryl caught on to where Kevin was going and knew it wouldn't end well. She tried to stop it,

"Objection. Relevance?" She shouted, getting on her feet.

"I'm getting there, the next question will prove it." Kevin argued.

"Very well, objection overruled. Ms. Montez please answer the question."

"I don't regret any decisions I had control over." Gabriella answered.

"So you don't regret killing your mother?" Kevin asked suddenly.

"I didn't kill her!" Gabriella exclaimed.

"Were you given a choice Ms. Montez?"

"Yes, but-"

"And the choices were…"

"It was either she live and I get taken away and tell everyone I hate them or I go free and she dies. But it's complicated."

"It's complicated, is it? I think it's very simple. You wanted your mother to die. You were being selfish." Kevin accused.

Troy watched in both horror and anger as Gabriella began to break down.

"He can't do that" Troy muttered.

"Unfortunately he can. It's his job" Taylor whispered. "And I doubt he's going to stop."

"Son of a bitch" Troy murmured.

"No. No." Gabriella cried. She felt tears begin to pour from her eyes. "I didn't want to choose. I couldn't. It was too hard. It all happened so fast. She chose so quickly"

"But you didn't stop her" Kevin replied. Gabriella let herself fall apart. He had taken it too far.

"If you really loved your mother you would have sacrificed yourself for her" Kevin spat. Gabriella felt her heart rip in two as his harsh words hit her.

"Objection! Badgering the witness" Cheryl shouted.

"Sustained." Judge Watson said firmly. "If you have no further questioning Mr. Mullen you may sit down."

"I think the jury has heard all they need to hear." Kevin said as Brian smirked.

"Ms. Montez you may go sit back down." Judge Watson said. Gabriella felt dizzy as she walked back to her to her seat at the table. She the whole room was a blur as she sat down and tried to calm herself down. But the pang in her heart just wouldn't go away. Kevin's words replayed over and over in her head. Each time they did she became more convinced that they were true. She felt sick – had she really let her own mother die?

Troy watched painfully as Gabriella walked down from the witness stand. He felt his heart rip in two when he saw fresh tears drip from her eyes. He couldn't stand seeing her like this. And the worst part was he wasn't allowed 

to go past the bar, which was almost directly behind where Gabriella was sitting. He wanted to hold her so bad. Tell her everything was going to be alright. It pained him to know that she was hurting and there was nothing he could do about it.

All Gabriella could think about was what if? What if she had told someone? What if she had chosen herself? Would she still have a mother? A wave of guilt washed over her. What had she been thinking? Her mother had given her everything she could ever ask her and this was how she repaid her?

For the first time a new thought entered her brain, what if she did this again? What if she let someone else down the way she had let her mother down. New tears fell from her already red and puffy eyes.

The rest of the trial was a complete blur. She heard only murmurs of words and saw only blurs of people. Finally she felt a hand on her forearm.

"Gabriella" Cheryl said softly. "The jury and judge have made their decision. You should listen"

Gabriella focused all of her attention on Judge Watson, who was making the announcement.

"After careful consideration of all the evidence the jury has found Mr. Larson guilty of murder and kidnapping with accounts of harassment, threatening, reckless driving, conspiracy, breaking and entering, trespassing and fraud." Judge Watson said.

Troy waited anxiously for the judge to read the sentence as that was the most important part. Brian has confessed to murdering Christine as well as kidnapping Gabriella. His lawyer was just trying to get him a lighter sentence. He wanted 5 years maximum in prison.

"I herby sentence Mr. Larson to a lifetime in prison with no chance of parole. This case is dismissed." Judge Watson said.

Gabriella breathed a sigh of relief; at least she didn't have to worry about Brian anymore. She turned to Cheryl and Jonathon,

"Thank you" she said softly.

"It's our job. We wouldn't have it any other way." Cheryl answered. "Now you go home and relax, it's been a long hard day."

Gabriella nodded. "I just have to grab my things from your office."

"Ok, come on, let's go quickly." Cheryl said leading Gabriella out of the courtroom, back to her office.

After grabbing her coat and purse Gabriella spoke her gratitude one last time before exiting the office.

She walked cautiously towards the exit of the building. Her emotions built as she got closer to her friends. What would they think of her? She hadn't told anyone that she had been given a choice before today. What if they hated her?

Her thoughts were cut short when she saw her friends waiting by the exit. They were chatting quietly. Gabriella approached them slowly, she felt fragile, like she might break down at any moment. Troy was the first to notice her. He looked up while talking to Chad and Jason and his eyes had immediately locked with Gabriella's. He stopped mid sentence and started walking towards Gabriella.

He walked briskly over and immediately engulfed her in a tight hug. Her head pressed again his chest.

"You ok?" he whispered. Gabriella's brain screamed no. She knew she couldn't hide her emotions from Troy even if she wanted to. She shook her head as tears began to fall from her eyes and her body trembled against his.

"Shhh, it's ok" he whispered rubbing circle on her back. Troy looked up at the gang and his parents worriedly. They had planned on taking Gabriella out to a late dinner. Maybe to cheer her up, but right now Troy knew Gabriella wasn't in the mood to go out.

"I think I'm going to take her home." Troy said. The gang nodded.

"Let's go home" Troy whispered. Gabriella pulled herself out of the embrace and wiped the tears off her face quickly.

"Thanks for coming you guys" she said softly.

"That's what friends are for Gabs" Chad said. Gabriella managed a weak smile.

* * *

Later that night, Gabriella lay on her side in the bed. Troy had his arms wrapped securely around her mid section. She hadn't spoken much since they'd gotten home. As soon as they'd arrived home the pair had gone straight to bed.

"Do you think I'm selfish?" Gabriella asked suddenly flipping around so she was lying on her back.

"Not in a million years" Troy whispered propping himself up next to Gabriella.

"Then why did I let him kill her?" Gabriella whispered, her voice breaking mid sentence.

"Hey…" Troy whispered slowly, moving a strand of hair out of her face. "That was not your fault. And I don't ever want you to think it was. Don't listen to that lawyer, he has no idea what he's talking about. He wasn't there._ You_ know that _you_ love your mother and your mom knew that." Troy spoke sternly, yet gently. Gabriella felt tears fall down her face.

"What was the last thing your mom said to you?" Troy asked.

"She told me I'd be ok" Gabriella whispered.

"And you will be, because you are strong and you're surrounded by people who love you" Troy said. Gabriella nodded.

"What if one day I have to choose between you and myself?" She admitted.

"I promise you that you will never ever have to make that choice, because I am going to always be here for you. Forever." Troy spoke genuinely.

"I love you" Gabriella whispered.

"I love you too, so so much"

**A/N: WOW that was long, so much longer than I expected it to be. I hope you all enjoyed it! Please review!**


	36. Surprise

**Disclaimer I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters. **

**A/N: I think I might cry. There is only one more chapter after this one. I was originally going to make the next chapter the epilogue, but as I was sitting in physics, just after I had finished my final, I realized that it would be better as the next chapter instead. Also I don't know if you guys have heard but Zac is up from male fashion icon and Zac and Vanessa are both up for choice hotties for the TCAs!! So make sure to cast your vote!! Enjoy…**

_Last Time…_

"_What was the last thing your mom said to you?" Troy asked. _

"_She told me I'd be ok" Gabriella whispered. _

"_And you will be, because you are strong and you're surrounded by people who love you" Troy said. Gabriella nodded. _

"_What if one day I have to choose between you and myself?" She admitted. _

"_I promise you that you will never ever have to make that choice, because I am going to always be here for you. Forever." Troy spoke genuinely._

"_I love you" Gabriella whispered._

"_I love you too, so so much"_

**Chapter Thirty Five**

Surprise

It had been a month since the trial and Gabriella was fully recovered from the traumatic event. She was currently going to college to earn her teaching degree. She worked extremely hard, sometimes long hours into the night in order to finish a paper. It was like high school all over again.

Currently, it was 4:30 in the afternoon and Troy was talking – well more like arguing with their adoption case worker, Helen Davis.

"_Mr. Bolton, you've got to understand that I have Julia's best interest in mind." Helen said. _

"But we do have Julia's best interest in mind. We can provide her with a loving home. An orphanage can't do that." Troy argued.

"_There is no doubt in my mind that you will do that. I just worried about her safety" _

"I can ensure you that she will be perfectly safe"

"_What about everything that has happened?" Helen questioned._ Troy sighed, here was just another reason to hate Brian.

"None of that is Gabriella's fault. You can't penalize Julia for something we have no control over"

"_I'm just concerned that someone will try to hurt Julia in order to provoke you or Ms. Montez. I have a testimonial here that states, someone hurt a little boy while playing basketball with Ms. Montez in order to taunt her."_

Who the hell had told her about that? Surely Chad and Taylor wouldn't have told Helen about what happened to Chris.

"Who told you that? Because Chris and Gabriella were both perfectly fine." Troy pointed out

"_I interviewed her ex-fiancé and he explained the situation to me." Helen said. _

"You do know that Jeff was the one who abused her?" Troy heard the doorbell ring and made his way over to the door while continuing his argument. "He's not going to tell you anything good about Gabriella and he'll take everything to the extreme" Troy disputed, opening the door for his guests and walked to the bedroom, while they went into the kitchen.

"_It's important that I get the opinion of everyone that you guys know in order to make a full evaluation." Helen said. _

"I understand but please consider that we are good people and wouldn't let anyone harm Julia."

"_I will, but I've got some other business to attend to right now. I'll be in touch with you soon." _

"Ok, thank you Ms. Davis" Troy said.

"_Goodbye"_

Troy pressed the end button forcefully and let out a long frustrated groan. He took a deep breath and walked out into the kitchen. Taylor, Chad and Chris were sitting at the island, making themselves comfortable.

"Hey guys, Gabi should be home in about 15 minutes." Troy said. Taylor nodded as Chris came running up to Troy,

"Hi uncle Troy!" Chris said happily, hugging him tightly.

"Hey little buddy" Troy greeted ruffling his hair, before he ran off to somewhere in the apartment.

"So who were you talking to on the phone? You sounded pretty stressed" Taylor asked.

"Helen" Troy said.

"Oh! We talked to her too" Chad said.

"What did she want from you?" Troy asked.

"She was asking us about your relationship" Chad answered.

"And you said…?"

"We told her the truth, that you couldn't keep your hands off of each other during high school." Chad smirked.

"Don't listen to Chad Troy. We told her only good things. And if it makes you feel any better I did most of talking." Taylor said.

"But why would she want to know about our relationship?" Troy asked.

"Most likely to make sure that Julia will be in a stable family environment. She doesn't want Julia's adoptive parents to be arguing all the time." Taylor explained.

"That makes sense" Troy nodded. "You guys want something to drink?"

"Yeah, water would be great" Taylor said.

"A beer" Chad said.

"Well there's a shock" Troy said sarcastically, grabbing the water jug and two beers from the fridge. Just as he was pouring Taylor's water, Chris came running into the kitchen.

"Mommy! Mommy! Look! I found treasure!" He exclaimed holding out a little velvet box. Troy glanced behind him to see what Chris had brought into the room. He almost dropped the jug as his eyes bulged at what Chris was holding.

"Woah! Where did you find that?" Troy asked moving in front of the island.

"It was on the coffee table in the living room. What is it?" Chris said innocently, handing Taylor the box.

"_Shit, shit, shit. I should have put that back in its hiding spot" Troy thought._

"Oh. My. God. Is this?" Taylor opened the small box to reveal a diamond ring. "IT IS!" she screeched. "Troy! How long have you been planning this?" Taylor asked excitedly handing Troy the box back after examining the diamonds.

"About a month and a half" Troy said sheepishly.

"Well dude, there's no use in having a ring if you're not going to ask her" Chad said, patting Troy roughly on the back. Troy rubbed the back of his neck as he looked towards the floor.

"Well, I don't know. With all that's going on with Julia and then the trial, I just-" Troy rambled fingering the ring. "What if she says no?" Troy sighed.

"I take it back that was the stupidest question I've ever heard" Taylor said. "Troy, unless the Gods have replaced Gabriella with some sort of anti-Gabriella, I can pretty much guarantee you that she will say yes. That girl loves you just as much as you love her."

"But I don't know how to do it" Troy admitted.

"Oh it's easy man, you just tell her how much you love her and then get down on one knee and ask her to marry you" Chad said. Taylor rolled her eyes.

"I think he means he doesn't know _when_ to do it. You just have to do it when the time feels right. Gabriella likes simple things, it doesn't have to extravagant." Taylor advised.

"I guess that makes sense" Troy said.

"Good, now we have to call everyone and tell them what's going to happen soon. They're going to be so excited!" Taylor exclaimed, digging through her bag to try to find her cell phone.

"No! This has to be a surprise. I may not know how I'm going to do this, but I do know that I want Gabi to be completely blown away." Troy said. Taylor smiled at Troy,

"Ok, I promise. Chad?"

Chad pretended to zip his lips and throw away the key.

"Chris, do you promise you won't tell anyone about this?" Troy asked.

"Pinky swear" Chris said seriously holding out his little finger. Troy grinned as he pinky swore with Chris. Detaching his pinky, Troy stood up. Just as he was about to say something, he heard Gabriella call out,

"I'm home!" Quickly slipping the small box into his pocket Troy called back,

"We're in the kitchen!"

She came walking into the room in jeans and a summery shirt with her hair in a ponytail and books in her arms. Setting her books down she was greeted by Chris.

"Auntie Gabi!" Chris hugged her happily.

"Hey little man" Gabriella greeted, picking him up off the floor. After putting him back down she hugged Taylor and Chad. Then she walked over to Troy and greeted him with a quick peck on the lips.

"How was school?" Troy asked.

"It was good, very good. How about you guys? What did you do today?"

"Well, Chad, Chris and I went furniture shopping today." Taylor said as Chad rolled her eyes.

"Oooo, that sounds fun" Gabriella smiled. "I bet Chad enjoyed that" she said sarcastically getting a laugh from everyone. "What about you Troy? How was your day?"

"School was great, but that's no surprise, it always is. After that it was…" Troy shrugged his shoulders, "ok"

"OK? What does that mean?" Gabriella asked.

"Helen called" he said simply.

"Anything good?" Gabriella asked hopefully. As Troy shook his head, he watched disappointment fill her eyes. She was taking this hard. Every time Helen called or they met with her, she always brought up Gabriella's past. Gabriella wanted to adopt Julia so badly that it killed her every time the possibility of it happening seemed to drift further away from her.

"But we'll get through this" Troy tried to reassure her. Even though she nodded her head Troy knew he had just dropped her moral.

* * *

"Do you remember when we had that sub, Mr. Gladstone?" Troy said.

"Yeah, he was so old and deaf that when we said 'ring – ring' he would get up and answer the phone" Chad laughed. "And the other one, Ms. Kim, you pretended you couldn't speak English"

Troy and Chad burst into fits of laughter. Taylor and Gabriella just shook their heads. Troy and Chad had always had a lot of fun tormenting substitutes. Taylor glanced over at her son, who she noticed had fallen asleep.

"I think we should probably head out. Look Chris is already asleep." She said.

Troy and Chad stifled their laughter as they nodded their heads and got up from the chairs to help bring in the coffee mugs. Taylor gathered up all their things and Chad picked Chris up, resting Chris' head on his shoulder.

Gabriella hugged Taylor and whispered, "We're still on for Saturday right?"

"You bet" Gabriella grinned.

She hugged Chad next, careful not to wake Chris up, while Troy hugged Taylor. The four adults walked towards the door and Troy held it open as Chad and Taylor walked out.

"Thanks for coming guys" Troy said.

"We'll come anytime" Taylor smiled as she waved goodbye to Troy and Gabriella.

Troy shut the door and Gabriella leaned up against him, resting her head against his chest.

"Did you have fun tonight?" Troy whispered. She nodded,

"Mmmhmm. I was great, especially playing with Chris" she said. Troy watched as sadness filled her.

"Do you think I'm dangerous to be around?" she asked softly looking up at him with glossy eyes.

"Hey" Troy whispered. "Is this about all that's going on with Julia?"

Gabriella nodded.

"I don't ever want you to think that any of what's happening or what happened in the past is your fault." Troy said.

"What if they come back and hurt someone else I care about?" she murmured.

"Jeff and Brian are not going to get anywhere near anyone anymore, they are locked up forever. And I promise that I won't let anyone take some else away from you" Troy spoke firmly. Gabriella nodded her head as a few tears leak out of her eyes. "And that means no more tears about this" Troy whispered wiping some of Gabriella's tears away with his thumbs.

"I really need to start buying water-proof mascara" Gabriella said, laughing slightly as she wiped the mascara stains off her face.

"I don't think you need to buy any make-up what so ever, you look just as beautiful without it" Troy whispered, planting a kiss on her forehead. "Let's go for a walk" he said suddenly.

"Now?"

"It's a beautiful night, why not?" Troy countered.

"Ok" she agreed.

* * *

5 minutes later the pair was sitting on the grass by a pond, gazing up at the stars. Gabriella was positioned in between Troy's legs, her head resting against his chest.

"So do you want to tell me more about your day today?" Troy asked.

"Well, besides taking all the basic school subjects, you know, math, science, reading, writing, history and geography, I'm also this class called psychology of learning. That class is really great, because I think it helps me understand what goes through kids' minds." Gabriella explained. "What about you? Care to elaborate on your day?"

"I actually found out some good news and bad new today. Which do you want to hear first?"

"The bad news" She answered.

"The bad is news is that Mrs. Wright called me today." Troy said slowly. "Julia has to leave in 2 weeks"

"That's not enough time" Gabriella said breathlessly.

"I know, but we can keep fighting even after she's in the orphanage." Troy said. Gabriella nodded, she knew Troy was right, but she also knew, in doing her own research that once children went to the orphanage it was harder and took longer to get them back.

"There is good news, remember?" Troy reminded her.

"The good news doesn't have anything to do with the bad news but, it's still good news. This morning I was taking to one of the third grade teachers, Mrs. Michelson. She wants you to be her student teacher. She heard such amazing things about you while you were teaching my class." Troy explained.

"Really?"

"Yes really" Gabriella grinned widely.

"Did you say yes?" she asked excitedly.

"Of course I did" Troy grinned. Gabriella turned her head around and pressed a firm kiss against Troy's lips.

"Thank you" she whispered.

"It was all you" He whispered back. Gabriella smiled contently, leaning back against Troy as she gazed back up to the sky.

"I love the stars" she whispered. "They're so beautiful"

Sitting in the park with Gabriella under the stars, felt so perfect. He had to ask her now. "Marry me?" Troy murmured.

"What?" Gabriella asked, not sure if she had heard correctly. Troy stood up, pulling Gabriella up with him. He took her hands in his.

"I love you so much Gabriella Montez. I know what it feels like to be apart from you and I don't want it to ever happen again. I want to go to sleep every night with you in my arms, I want to wake up with you every morning, I want to spend the rest of my life with you." Troy spoke sincerely. He knelt down and opened a small velvet box. "Will you marry me?"

Gabriella felt tears fall from her eyes – happy tears of course. He had rendered her completely speechless, taking her completely by surprise. Realized that she had been silent for quite a while, she began nodding her head vigorously,

"Yes" she whispered breathless, finding her voice. Troy's face lit up and he rose to his feet, slipping the breathtaking diamond ring on her finger.

Looking up his eyes were met with Gabriella's joyous eyes. The kiss that came afterwards was one filled with passion and love.

**A/N: A pretty fluffy chapter, if I do say so myself :) I hope you all enjoyed it! A picture of the engagement ring is posted in my profile if you want to check it out!**


	37. Amazed

**Disclaimer I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters. **

**A/N: I AM SO SORRY! I know this is late but it's really long and I wanted it to be perfect! The last chapter is always the most painful to write. You grow to love the new characters you have created and the environment you've nurtured. Haha I probably sound crazy right now, but I'm serious. Those of you who have written know, I'm just as sad to see it end as you guys are. I'm going to have a lot to say at the bottom so I'll stop talking now, enjoy…**

_Last Time…_

"_I love you so much Gabriella Montez. I know what it feels like to be apart from you and I don't want it to ever happen again. I want to go to sleep every night with you in my arms, I want to wake up with you every morning, I want to spend the rest of my life with you." Troy spoke sincerely. He knelt down and opened a small velvet box. "Will you marry me?"_

_Gabriella felt tears fall from her eyes – happy tears of course. He had rendered her completely speechless, taking her completely by surprise. Realized that she had been silent for quite a while, she began nodding her head vigorously,_

"_Yes" she whispered breathless, finding her voice. Troy's face lit up and he rose to his feet, slipping the breathtaking diamond ring on her finger. _

_Looking up his eyes were met with Gabriella's joyous eyes. The kiss that came afterwards was one filled with passion and love._

**Chapter Thirty Six**

Amazed

"Oh Gabriella you look so beautiful" Sharpay gushed as Gabriella emerged from behind the folding screen in her wedding gown. Her white gown, with metallic flower beading on the bodice hugged her torso and then flowed gently out just below the hips. She was wearing her mother's bracelet and a diamond necklace that matched the beading in her dress.

"That dress looks even more stunning then it did in the store" Taylor said.

Gabriella felt a small blush form on her cheeks.

"Thanks guys" she whispered, smoothing out her dress. She approached the mirror and as she stared at her herself, she saw through her skin, into the part of soul that hurt the most.

_Flashback_

_"Marie!" Jeff yelled. "Get your pitiful ass down here!"_

_Marie came running into the living room as quickly as possible._

_"Yes"_

_"We want beers" Jeff ordered gesturing to the other men in the room. Marie nodded and quickly went back into the kitchen to grab the beers. She placed the beer bottles on a tray and opened each one quickly. As she carried the tray back to the room she could hear the men talking._

_"Why do you keep that woman around? She's ugly as hell."_

_"Sometimes I don't know. I try to look past her hideousness because she does everything I tell her too" Jeff said._

_"But she rarely does it right, she's a dumbass" Brian scoffed. She heard all the men laughing, as she tried to fight back tears before walking into the living room. Her already low confidence had been shattered and scarred for life._

_End Flashback_

"Gabs?" Kelsi asked, bringing Gabriella back from her nightmare. "You ok?"

Gabriella looked up at her friends through the mirror,

"What if I'm not good enough?" she whispered.

"What are you talking about?" Taylor asked.

"What if I'm not enough for him? What if he deserves more than I can give him?" She confessed.

The three women knew that all brides got nervous just before their wedding, it was called cold feet. However, Gabriella wasn't getting cold feet; her concerns were much deeper than that. They were wounds that had scarred her for life. Jeff's harsh words and treatment would forever stay with her.

"Oh Gabs, you are more than enough for Troy. You are his world, his reason for existence. He loves you so, so much." Taylor assured her.

"You have to let go of the pain that Jeff and Brian had caused you, because they don't matter. All that matters is you and Troy. You two love each other so much and no one should be allowed to get in between that." Kelsi said.

Gabriella nodded her head slowly, fiercely fighting back tears.

"Thank you" she whispered.

"That's what we're here for." Taylor smiled.

"And to make sure your make-up doesn't smudge. So don't you dare cry" Sharpay warned her. Gabriella laughed.

"I can always count on you guys" Gabriella smiled. Suddenly she turned around,

"What time is it?" she asked quickly.

"Gabs, relax, it's only 1:30. You have half an hour" Sharpay assured her.

Gabriella grinned, it really hit her, in half an hour she would be getting married.

"We should probably go make sure everything is perfect" Kelsi said.

"Very true. Gabriella deserves nothing short of perfection" Sharpay agreed.

Each of the girls hugged Gabriella tightly as she thanked them again for being there.

"See you soon" Sharpay squealed, just before closing the door to the small room.

* * *

Troy was already standing in the church, even though he had half an hour until he really needed to be there.

The church was empty and it would probably stay that way for another 15 minutes. Troy was glad of that, he just needed some alone time. Just before arriving at the church he'd been with Chad, Jason and Zeke. It had only taken them a few minutes to get dressed so they ended up talking about guy stuff. After that Chad, Jason and Zeke had gone to find their wives.

Troy kept pacing up and down the aisle, rubbing his palms together as he went. It was the only thing that seemed to keep him calm as thoughts constantly raced through his mind.

He was ecstatic to finally be getting married to the woman he had always dreamed getting married to. During senior year he thought a lot about the future and every time he did they always included Gabriella. He wanted this wedding to be absolutely perfect for her.

* * *

There were only 15 minutes left until the ceremony began. After 5 months of planning it was only a few minutes away.

Gabriella was now sitting on a bench just under the window. It was the perfect day for a wedding, the sun was shining, but it wasn't too hot – it was perfect. As she stared out the window she was able to forget some of the things that weren't so perfect – the fact that 3 people were going to miss her wedding. Her mother, who she had giggled with about what her wedding was going to be like. Her father, who she had always dreamed would walk her down the aisle and share the father-daughter dance with her. And finally Julia. It had been 4 and half months since she had been taken away to orphanage.

_Flashback_

_The ride to the Wrights' house was silent. Neither Gabriella nor Troy could find words to express themselves._

_When they pulled up to the Wright household they could see a black SUV already parked in the driveway. Troy turned off the engine and turned to face Gabriella._

_"You ready?" he asked._

_"We don't have a choice" Gabriella stated opening the side door and getting out of the car. Troy followed suit and jogged slightly so he could catch up with Gabriella, who was already half way up the driveway. Once he had caught up with her, he laced his hand with hers._

_The couple walked up the front steps and rang the doorbell. A saddened Mrs. Wright opened the door._

_"Julia's up in her room, if you want to see her. It's the 2nd door on the right." She said motioning to the stairs behind her._

_"Thank you" the pair murmured as they started to ascend the stairs. They managed to find her room quickly and knocked once before entering the room._

_Julia sat against the wall opposite the door. She stared blankly into space. As Troy shut the door behind them, her eyes seemed to focus and only then did they brighten slightly._

_The pair walked over to Julia and sat down on either side of her, with their backs against the wall._

_"Why can't I stay?" Julia asked quietly._

_"It's really complicated" Troy answered._

_"That's what everyone says. I just wish people would tell me why. Am I not wanted?" Julia asked tearfully._

_"No. No, don't you ever think that. You are most definitely wanted." Gabriella assured her._

_"I guess you deserve to know. The state is refusing to pay compensation money to the Wrights anymore, since they had a foster care agreement for 8 years. I know that the Wrights would keep you if they could and I hope that you know that, but they just can't afford to support you." Troy explained softly._

_"Troy and I are fighting to gain custody of you. We're working hard, but the case worker is having difficulty clearing us. I'm sorry Julia, I really am" Gabriella whispered letting tears escape from her eyes._

_"Don't be sorry, it's not your fault. I just wish the adoption agency would see how much you guys care and how much I want you two to be my parents." Julia said, her voice cracking._

_As tears fell from Julia's eyes she threw her arms around Gabriella and sobbed into her chest. Gabriella wrapped her arms around Julia, hugging her tightly, while Troy wrapped his arms around Gabriella and Julia, encircling them in his arms._

_"I don't want to go" Julia wailed. Troy and Gabriella felt their hearts breaking as they listened to the little girl cry._

_Soon, Mr. and Mrs. Wright came into the room along with a social worker._

_"It's time" the social worker said._

_Slowly, Troy loosened his grip on Gabriella, as Gabriella loosened her grip on Julia. Troy and Gabriella wiped the tears that had fallen during the emotional embrace off their faces._

_Gabriella helped Julia stand up, while Troy dug through his pockets until he found the piece of metal he had been looking for. Taking it out, he clenched it in his fist._

_As Gabriella finished wiping Julia's tears Troy knelt down to Julia's level._

_"I have something for you" Troy said, opening his hand up to reveal a silver chain with a key on the end. Julia picked the necklace out of Troy's hand and look at his curiously._

_"This is a copy of the key to our apartment. It's a reminder that Gabi and I are going to keep fighting until you can come home to us. We don't want you to ever forget that" Troy explained. Julia hugged Troy and whispered,_

_"I won't, I promise" After she released her arms from around Troy she flung her arms around Gabriella._

_"I can't wait for your wedding. You are going to look so beautiful" Julia whispered._

_"You mean the world to me Julia. I wouldn't want you to miss it" Gabriella whispered back._

_After a few more emotional goodbyes it was time for Julia to leave. The group made their way downstairs and on to the front lawn._

_Gabriella clung to Troy as they watched painfully as the black SUV drove away._

_End Flashback_

Gabriella felt awful. She knew how much Julia wanted to be at the wedding. It was devastating to Gabriella because with each day that passed the possibility of Julia attending the wedding seemed to slip further and further away. In the 4 ½ months that had passes it seemed as though no change had been made regarding Julia's adoption.

It hurt Gabriella more to know that Julia wasn't happy where she was right now. The only form of communication that was allowed was through letters. Gabriella always made it her business to send Julia a letter every single day and was delighted when she received a letter back each and every day. In fact, now would be a perfect time to write her letter for the day.

Just as she was getting up to find a piece of paper and a pen there was a knock at the door.

"Come in" she said. The door opened and Jack and Lucille Bolton walked into the room. Lucille gasped,

"Oh Gabriella! You look so beautiful!" Lucille gushed warmly. Gabriella smiled,

"Thank you"

"Well, we just popped by to make sure you're all ready to go." Lucille explained. "I think I'm going to make sure Troy hasn't destroyed the floors because of all his pacing. Jack's going to stay with you until it's time to walked done the aisle"

Gabriella loved tradition. She had always dreamed of having a traditional wedding, where her father walked her down the aisle. Unfortunately that was now an impossibility.

Shortly after Troy and Gabriella began planning the wedding the fact that her father was not going to be able to walk her down the aisle had hit her hard. Painful childhood memories of her father's death had caused many emotional break downs. However, a new solution arose – Jack. Jack had become Gabriella's second father, just as Gabriella had become the daughter he never had.

One afternoon Gabriella drove to the Bolton household to ask him. It had been so much harder than Gabriella had expected and had caused tears to flow, but after an emotional experience Jack had gladly agreed.

"You look stunning Gabriella" Jack complimented, after his wife left the room.

"Thank you" she said. "And thank you for doing this" she continued softly.

"I'm honored. From the stories you and your mother have told me about your father, he sounded like an extraordinary man. One that would be so incredibly proud of everything you have become." Jack said.

"I hope so" Gabriella whispered running her fingers over the cool metal of her mother's bracelet. She felt tears begin to well up in her eyes. "I just really wish they could be here" she whispered.

"They are. They're smiling down on you, and I bet they just want you to be happy." Jack said as Gabriella hugged him tightly. "Which means no crying" he whispered. Gabriella smiled and the tears in her eyes soon faded away. Jack released her from the embrace and looked at his watch. "I also think they wouldn't want you to be late."

Gabriella giggled, "Very true" Jack held out his arm and Gabriella linked her arm with his. Together they walked into the hallway and down the stairs until they came to the hall just before large wooden doors, crowded around the doors stood her friends. Sharpay, Taylor and Kelsi were dressed in their light blue chiffon dresses. Allie and Sarina had white dresses on with a light blue sash around the middle. Chad, Zeke and Jason had a simple black suit on with a light blue tie and Chris wore khaki pants with a light blue dress shirt.

Allie was the first to spot Gabriella.

"Look! Look!" she shrieked. "Auntie Gabi looks like a princess" Sarina turned and ran towards Gabriella along with Allie.

"You look so pretty" Sarina said in amazement.

"Thank you" Gabriella answered. "You girls look very pretty too. Do you like your dresses?"

"Yes!"

"And Chris, you look very handsome" Gabriella commented, not wanting to forget him.

Chris just grinned.

"Now Troy is definitely going to faint when he sees you" Chad laughed.

"Way to be reassuring" Zeke muttered sarcastically.

Gabriella laughed, "I don't know if I should call an ambulance or take that as a compliment"

"I would say that it's a compliment" Jason said.

"Well then thank you. You guys look very handsome yourselves. It's not every day you see you boys in a suit." Gabriella smiled. Just then Jack turned to her,

"It's time. You ready?" he asked. Gabriella grinned, she was finally about to get married.

"Let's do this!"

* * *

Troy stood at the altar looking out at the almost full church. Everyone was chatting in anticipation of the bride, but Troy didn't hear any of it, all he heard was a low buzz.

He saw the minister nod to the organ player, who began playing the wedding march.

The doors opened revealing Chris, Allie and Sarina. The trio came walking down the aisle, Allie and Sarina dropping white rose petals all down the aisle, while they linked arms with Chris.

Then came Kelsi and Jason. Kelsi gave Troy a supportive smile. After that Sharpay and Zeke came walking out. Sharpay grinned, while Zeke just nodded, giving Troy support. Next came Chad and Taylor. Chad pulled a funny face, which caused Taylor to roll her eyes before she smiled at Troy.

Finally, Gabriella emerged from behind the doors with her arm linked with Jack's. Troy felt his heart rate speed up and yet all his fears seemed to disappear. The sound of the organ faded away as did everyone in the room, besides him and Gabriella. In all the times Troy had tried to imagine Gabriella walking down the aisle she had never looked as absolutely beautiful as she did now.

As she got closer Troy couldn't help that a grin spread across his face. She walked up the steps of the altar and handed her bouquet of blue and white flowers to Taylor. Then Jack placed a kiss on her cheek before he headed to his seat in the front row. Troy took Gabriella's hands in his and pulled her close to whisper,

"You look absolutely gorgeous" Gabriella smiled,

"You look very handsome yourself" she whispered back.

Troy laced his fingers with Gabriella's as the pair turned to face the priest.

"We are gathered here today to celebrate the union of Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez." The priest began. "Through the trials and tribulations this couple has faced, they have managed to stay together and their love has grown deeper and stronger. The bride and groom have chosen to write own expression of their love for one another. Troy would you like to begin?"

Troy took a deep breath. This had taken him forever to write – it had to be perfect. He turned to face Gabriella and held both her hands in his.

"I remember the first time I met you. You looked so beautiful under the stage light. I remember feeling something I had never felt before and that never returned for anyone but you. From then on you became my entire world. Nothing else mattered as long as you were alright, you were happy. I am so lucky to have met you because you saw the real me and you make me fight for what is really important to me. Without you, I'm just the lunk-head basketball boy. I know what it feels like to lose you and I never want to have to feel that again. Every moment I spent with you I fall deeper and deeper in love with you. I promise that I will always be there for you no matter what happens." Troy said sincerely. Gabriella had glossy eyes from Troy's heartfelt words.

"Gabriella?" Gabriella nodded and looked up at Troy.

"As a little girl I used to wonder about my prince charming. My father used to tell me that there was someone out there who would protect me with their life, who would make me light up when they walked into the room, and who would most of all love me unconditionally. For a while I stopped believing that my prince charming would come. But then one fateful night, you literally sang your way into my life. In my fantasies of prince charming, never did I think that he would change my entire outlook on life, love and happiness. You saw through the shell, through the books, through the words, through the numbers, you saw me. I am so blessed to have met someone who waited for me when you didn't even know that I was alive. I never want to be apart from you ever again. From this moment on I want to spend every day of my life with you." Gabriella spoke genuinely. Troy smiled and mouthed, 'I-love-you'. Gabriella smiled back and mouthed, 'I-love-you-too'

"Do you Troy, take Gabriella to be your wife, your partner in life and your one true love. Do you promise to cherish your union and to love her more each day than you did the day before? Do you promise to trust her and respect her, to laugh with her and cry with her, loving her faithfully through good times and bad, regardless of the obstacles you may face together? Do you give her your hand, your heart, and your love, from this day forward for as long as you both shall live?" The minister asked looking at Troy.

"I do" Troy said simply, as he slipped the ring on Gabriella's finger.

"And do you Gabriella take Troy to be your husband, your partner in life and your one true love. Do you promise to cherish your union and to love him more each day than you did the day before? Do you promise to trust him and respect him, to laugh with him and cry with him, loving him faithfully through good times and bad, regardless of the obstacles you may face together? Do you give him your hand, your heart, and your love, from this day forward for as long as you both shall live?" the minister asked looking at Gabriella.

"I do" Gabriella said, as she slipped the ring onto Troy's finger.

"You may now kiss the bride" the minister said happily. Troy stared lovingly into Gabriella's eyes as he brought his left hand up to caress her cheek as she put her left hand behind his neck, bringing him closer. Their lips connected in a breathtaking kiss, the first of many as husband and wife. Sharpay cheered excitedly, prompting the rest of the church to erupt into applause. After Troy and Gabriella broke apart, Troy kept Gabriella close to him, kissing the top of her head.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I present, Mr. and Mrs. Troy Bolton" Gabriella grinned as Troy took her hand and the pair walked back down the aisle, radiating joy and love.

Later that evening at the reception Chad stood up and tapped his glass with his fork. Everyone turned their attention towards him.

"Well, I think it's about time that I get to embarrass my best friend" Chad grinned. Troy just rolled his eyes.

"Troy and I have known each other since pre-k and let me tell you it was the start of a fantastic friendship. We used to play in the mud and have a contest of who could eat the most doughnuts. Then as we got older we used play pranks of various people, usually our mothers" Jada Danforth and Lucille raised their eyebrows at their sons "Remember the time mud fell all over you guys after you came back from the salon?" Jada and Lucille nodded slowly. "Well…that wasn't our dads, it was us" Chad admitted. Jack and James gave their wives an I-told-you-so look. Troy managed to laugh at the memory of the event. "Sorry mom. Anyway, by the time we were in high school basketball was pretty much _the _most important thing in the world and if I don't say so myself, we were pretty damn good. Then, one year after winter break Troy came back and something changed. At first I didn't see that it was a good thing and tried to stop it. But man was I wrong. Gabriella was the best thing that ever happened to Troy. I don't know if you guys know this, but Troy made an amazing free throw shot once and he wasn't even looking at the basket, he was staring right at Gabs. I think everyone knows that Troy and Gabriella are pretty much meant for each other, because from the moment they met they were inseparable even when they were 'just friends'. Although during that phase we all knew they both just wanted to push each other up against the lockers and start making out." Troy shot Chad a glare, which only caused Chad to reply, "And lucky for them their wish came true. And let me tell you they did not spare us from watching them-" Chad was cut off by Taylor,

"Thank you Chad, for that fantastic speech" Taylor began.

"But I wasn't finished" Chad argued.

"You are now." Taylor said firmly. "I haven't known Gabriella for as long as Chad had known Troy, but she has been and will always be my best friend. 

Gabriella is the type of person that if you need something, she will stop everything she is doing and come over to help you. She usually ends up putting herself last. Troy over here was always there to make sure that sometimes, or all the time if he was directly involved, she put herself first. I don't think I have ever met anyone stronger or who deserves someone to love her as much as Troy does. So, I propose a toast to Troy and Gabriella, may they laugh together and love each other forever." Taylor raised her glass as did everyone in the room.

"To Troy and Gabriella" the group chorused followed by a round of applause. After the applause died down, Troy stood up. Gabriella looked up at him, confused – this wasn't part of the plan.

"I know I wasn't supposed to make a speech tonight, but there is something that I have to say. There is a very special little girl that couldn't be here today and I know that you really wanted her to be here today Gabi. I know it's hurting you that she can't be here, because it's hurting me too. But if there's something I've learned over the years, it's that a promise is a promise and shouldn't be broken." Troy explained. Gabriella still looked confused, and slightly hurt.

"And Gabriella I haven't been entirely truthful with you. I have a surprise for you" Troy held out his hand. Gabriella looked even more confused, but took Troy's hand. Troy led her in front of the table. "Last night something happened that I may have forgotten to tell you about when we talked on the phone last night." Gabriella looked at her friends, trying to figure out what was going on. "The adoption was finalized." Troy said. Gabriella's jaw dropped and her hand flew up to her mouth. "Julia you can come out now"

The door of the reception hall opened and Julia came walking through the door with a grin on her face.

Gabriella was completely floored. She couldn't believe Julia was actually walking towards her.

"You're not dreaming. She arrived this morning. She was at the church" Troy whispered. Gabriella felt tears fall from her eyes as she crouched down as Julia got close.

Finally Julia flung her arms around Gabriella neck, hugging her tightly. Gabriella stroked Julia's hair.

"I was right you look so beautiful" Julia whispered.

"Oh Julia, you look beautiful too. I am so glad you're here." Gabriella whispered.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world" Julia smiled. Gabriella grinned and looked up Troy. 'Thank you' she mouthed to him, bringing Julia back in for another hug.

Troy smiled. All the arguing that he had to do was worth it, because right now everything was perfect.

Troy, Gabriella and Julia sat at the table chatting happily when suddenly the DJ got everyone's attention.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I think it's time we get this party started. Would you please all gather around the dance floor to watch the bride and groom's first dance"

Julia hopped up excitedly, pulling Troy and Gabriella with her.

"You want to dance with us?" Gabriella asked. Julia shook her head and held up a disposable camera,

"Nope, I'm taking pictures" she stated. The music began to play and Troy took Gabriella's hand, leading her onto the dance floor. His hands snaked around her waist and Gabriella let her hands wrapped around his neck.

_Every time our eyes meet  
This feeling inside me  
Is almost more than I can take  
Baby when you touch me  
I can feel how much you love me  
And it just blows me away  
I've never been this close to anyone or anything  
I can hear your thoughts  
I can see your dreams_

"Today has been perfect" Gabriella whispered.

"Good, that's all I wanted to hear." Troy whispered softly kissing her ear.

_I don't know how you do what you do  
I'm so in love with you  
It just keeps getting better  
I wanna spend the rest of my life  
With you by my side  
Forever and ever  
Every little thing that you do  
Baby I'm amazed by you_

_The smell of your skin  
The taste of your kiss  
The way you whisper in the dark  
Your hair all around me  
Baby you surround me  
You touch every place in my heart  
Oh it feels like the first time every time  
I wanna spend the whole night in your eyes_

Gabriella let her head rest of Troy's chest as the pair continued to sway together. It wasn't a fancy dance, just a simple, romantic dance that meant the world to both of them.

_I don't know how you do what you do  
I'm so in love with you  
It just keeps getting better  
I wanna spend the rest of my life  
With you by my side  
Forever and ever  
Every little thing that you do  
Baby I'm amazed by you_

_Every little thing that you do  
I'm so in love with you  
It just keeps getting better  
I wanna spend the rest of my life  
With you by my side  
Forever and ever  
Every little thing that you do  
_

_Oh, every little thing that you do  
Baby I'm amazed by you_

As the song ended Troy captured Gabriella's lips is a passionate kiss that made everyone else disappear, leaving them as the only two people in the room. The only thing that was able to regain their attention was the applause that filled the room.

Just before their friends surrounded them, Gabriella managed to whisper in Troy's ear, "I told you I'm always here for you"

**The End**

**A/N: Holy crap that's a long chapter! I really hope you enjoyed it. This is the first time I've written a wedding chapter so I hope you liked it. Before I forget, there is a link to the song, a picture of Gabriella's dress, the bridesmaids dresses and the flower girls dresses in my profile. **

**I have to give a HUGE thank you to everyone who reviewed, put me on their favorites and alerts lists and to everyone who read the story! You guys really kept me writing this story and I am so amazed at all the support I've gotten. **

**For those of you who are wondering if this is the end of me, it's not. I have an idea for another story as well as several one shots. So you can expect those in the coming weeks/months. **

**Just a little note, I'm going to Japan for 2 weeks and will be without a computer for the entire time so don't expect any sort of anything from me, should you choose to try and contact me.**

**Oh and one more thing! Don't forget to vote for Zac and Vanessa for the TCAs! It would be SO cute if they both won!! You can vote everyday so VOTE EVERYDAY! **

**I was just kidding I have one last thing to say, HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!! – that is if you live in the US, if not…just be happy it's summer!!**


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